Foreign Relations of the United States, 1948, Eastern Europe; The Soviet Union, Volume IV

840.811/6–2048

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador of the Soviet Union ( Panyushkin )

The Secretary of State presents his compliments to His Excellency the Ambassador of the Union Soviet Socialist Republics and has the honor to refer to the Embassy’s note No. 115 of June 20, 1948 in which it was requested that the Department of State issue appropriate instructions to its Ambassador in Belgrade¹ to join in the delivery on June 25 of an identical invitation on behalf of the Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom and France to the Government of Yugoslavia to act as host for a convention for a regime of navigation of the Danube.

The Department of State is today instructing its Ambassador in Belgrade to deliver such an invitation to the Minister of Foreign Affairs jointly with the Ambassadors of the United Kingdom, France and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics when they will have been similarly instructed.² The suggested text of the invitation to the Yugoslav Government was submitted in the Department’s note of May 25 to the Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom and France. This text the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics accepted in the Embassy’s note of June 12. The proposed invitation of the Yugoslav Government to the participating countries has been amended to include the participation of Austria in the Conference with a consultative vote. This amended text, which is being forwarded to the United States Ambassador in Belgrade along with the agreed invitation to Yugoslavia to act as host, is attached herewith.

The Governments of Great Britain and France are being informed of this action.

Washington , June 25, 1948.

[Enclosure]

Proposed Text of an Identical Communication of the Four Governments to the Government of Yugoslavia (Revised)

The Government of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia has the honor on its own behalf and on behalf of the Governments of France, the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United States to invite the Governments of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic to send representatives and to the Government of Austria to send representatives to act in a consultative capacity to Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to participate in a conference beginning July 30, 1948 to work out a new convention regarding the regime of navigation of the Danube in accordance with the agreements made by the above four Governments at the December 1946 meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers.

1. Cavendish W. Cannon.
2. A note with the revised text of the invitation was sent to the Embassy in Belgrade in telegram 331 on June 25, 1948, noon, with this direction: “You are authorized to present invitation jointly with your three colleagues only when they have received similar instructions.” (840.811/6–2048)