840.20/3–149
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
| Participants: | The Secretary |
| Mr. Morgenstierne, Norwegian Ambassador | |
| Mr. John Hickerson, Director for European Affairs |
The Norwegian Ambassador came in to see me at 4:45 this afternoon at my request and I gave him the following oral message:
I refer to your oral inquiry on February 231 concerning possible Norwegian participation in the Washington conversations regarding a proposed North Atlantic Pact.
If, after the completion of the debate in the Storting, the Norwegian Government expresses a desire to participate in the Washington discussions, the seven participating governments will be glad to have the Norwegian Ambassador join the discussions at any time.
While he was in Washington, Mr. Lange stated that the inclusion of Italy might make his presentation of the Pact to the Storting and the Norwegian public more difficult. It will be recalled that the oral [Page 136] message given the Norwegian Ambassador on December 31 last2 pointed out that similar oral messages were being given to governments of Denmark, Iceland, Ireland and Portugal, in addition to the Norwegian Government, and that the relationship of Italy to the proposed pact was still under consideration. It will, of course, be understood that questions regarding participation of the above-mentioned countries in the proposed North Atlantic Pact must be determined by the seven governments which originated the conversations. Should any question be raised of the participation in the Pact of any countries additional to those mentioned above, the Norwegian Government will, of course, if it participates in the discussions, have an equal voice with the other participating countries.
It should be added that the question of Italy’s relationship to the proposed pact is under very active consideration at this moment and that there is a strong possibility that Italy will be invited either to be an original signatory or to accede to the Pact.
The Ambassador expressed his very great appreciation, adding that this was the reply which he had hoped for and that he was certain that his government would be grateful for this message. He said that he hoped to receive Thursday or Friday instructions from his government to say that they would be glad to have an invitation to participate at once. I replied that in such an event he could consider the oral message which I had just given him as itself an invitation.
The Ambassador said that he fully understood what I had stated in regard to the participation of Italy and that he was confident that this would really create no problem for his government.
- A memorandum of conversation dated February 23, 1949, by Hickerson, of the meeting referred too here between Morgenstierne, Hickerson, Achilles, and Hulley, is in Department of State file No. 840.20/2–2349.↩
- See Foreign Relations, 1948, vol. iii, p. 348.↩