840.00/8–1049: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Embassy in France
priority
niact
2957. Pls have FonOff relay urgently following personal message to Schuman from me.
“Amb Bonnet has told me of his instructions that his deposit of French instrument of ratification of NAP shld be accompanied by a declaration based upon and transmitting July 27 resolution of Council of Republic.1 I am of course familiar with that resolution and well know importance which your Govt attaches to receiving arms from US. I have received sympathetically Bonnet’s repeated representations on this matter. I believe you realize importance which I attach to securing early passage of necessary legislation, efforts which I am making toward that end and extent to which I have frankly emphasized to Congress necessity for it from European point of view. There is of course no objection to your transmitting text of resolution but I must tell you frankly my conviction that neither the objective stated in resolution nor common interests of France and US would be served by making any declaration at time of deposit of ratification which might be construed as an attempt to bring pressure from abroad. Any such action in relation to matter under consideration by Congress wld be intensely resented in that body and seriously increase difficulty of legislation.”
- In a note of August 8, not printed, the French Embassy conveyed the text of a resolution of July 27 by the Council of the Republic calling upon the French Government to seek (a) the necessary guarantees from the other signatories of the North Atlantic Pact regarding the composition of subsidiary organisms and of the defense committee, and (b) modern arms and equipment from the United States Government to enable French forces to fulfill their obligations under the Pact. (840.50 Recovery/8–849)↩