746.0011EW (Peace)/10–149
Memorandum by the Acting Secretary of State1
Meeting With the President, Saturday, October 1
austrian peace treaty
The President read our instructions to the Secretary, included in Audel 184 of September 28, 1949,2 and the Vishinsky–Bevin discussion reported in telegram no. 1212 dated September 30, 1949.3 His view was that we should adhere firmly to our position that we would not agree to an Austrian Treaty which made it impossible for Austria to survive as an independent nation. When informed that the cost to us of remaining in Austria might run as high as $200,000,000 a year, he indicated that he thought this not an excessive price to prevent the Russians from extending the Iron Curtain to the western boundaries of Austria, outflanking Germany and Yugoslavia, and positioning themselves at the Brenner Pass. He felt that even if Schuman and Bevin were willing to agree to such a treaty, we should not.