Foreign Relations of the United States, 1949, Eastern Europe; The Soviet Union, Volume V

740.0011 EW (Peace)/6–1149

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador of the Soviet Union (Panyushkin)¹

The Secretary of State presents his compliments to His Excellency the Ambassador of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and has the honor to acknowledge receipt of the Embassy’s note No. 74 of June 11, 1949.² The Embassy’s note stated the views of the Soviet Government with reference to (1) the Acting Secretary of State’s note of May 31, 1949³ transmitting for the information of the Governments of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic and of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, as signatories to the Treaties of Peace with Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania, copies of notes exchanged between the United States Government and the Governments of Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania concerning disputes arising out of violations of the clauses of the respective Treaties of Peace which guarantee the enjoyment of human rights to all persons under the jurisdiction of those three states; and (2) the letters sent on May 31, 1949 by the American Chiefs of Mission in Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania to their Soviet colleagues⁴ requesting that the Heads of Mission of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in those three countries meet, in accordance with the terms of the Peace Treaties, to consider the disputes which have arisen concerning the interpretation and execution of the Treaties.

It is noted that no direct reply has been made by the Soviet Ambassadors in Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania to the above-mentioned letters of the American Chiefs of Mission.

The United States Government regrets that the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, by its refusal to cooperate in the consideration of the disputes by the three Heads of Mission in Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania, has itself shown disregard for the stipulations of the Peace Treaties providing explicitly that any dispute concerning the interpretation or execution of the Treaties which is not settled by direct diplomatic negotiations shall be referred to the three Heads of Mission.

The existence of disputes between the United States Government and the Governments of Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania respectively cannot be questioned. According to notes exchanged with these three governments, the United States Government has charged them with repeated and systematic violations of certain clauses of the Treaties of Peace, and they have replied asserting that their acts do not constitute such violations. The Soviet Government, in the Embassy’s note of June 11, 1949, has associated itself with the position of the Governments of Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania in denying that the Treaties have been violated. This interpretation is disputed by the United States and by other signatories of the Treaties of Peace. The procedures set forth in Article 36 of the Treaty of Peace with Bulgaria, Article 40 of the Treaty of Peace with Hungary, and Article 38 of the Treaty of Peace with Rumania are precisely applicable to these disputes.

The opinions of the Soviet Government on the merits of the disputes, as expressed in the Embassy’s note of June 11, deserve full consideration. They are, however, irrelevant to the question whether or not disputes exist and to the matter of instituting the procedures called for by the above-mentioned Articles of the Treaties of Peace.

The Embassy’s note states that “it is self-evident that the measures carried out by Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania with the aim of fulfilling the articles of the Treaties of Peace rest wholly within the internal competence of these countries as sovereign states.” The United States Government cannot agree that the fulfillment of international treaty obligations can be considered as a purely domestic affair. The application of such a theory would not only permit the total circumvention of treaty obligations but would destroy the very basis of international law.

At the 190th Plenary Meeting of the Third Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, April 12, 1949, the Delegate of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, in objecting to consideration by the General Assembly of charges of violation of human rights in Bulgaria and Hungary, cited Article 36 of the Treaty of Peace with Bulgaria and Article 40 of the Treaty of Peace with Hungary and stated: “Even if there were any violation of the Peace Treaties by Bulgaria and Hungary, the states alleging such violations should adhere to the procedures stipulated in the Peace Treaties themselves.” Whether there have been such violations is in dispute. The United States, as a signatory power making such allegations, had already, on April 2, 1949, initiated measures with a view to the application of the Treaty clauses cited by the Soviet delegate. The resolution of the General Assembly on the subject, adopted on April 30, 1949, noted these measures with satisfaction, expressed the hope that they would be diligently applied, and most urgently drew the attention of the Governments of Bulgaria and Hungary to their obligations under the Peace Treaties, including the obligation to cooperate in the settlement of disputes. The Soviet Government, however, by its present attitude, shows that it is unwilling itself to act in accordance with these Treaty procedures. This attitude of the Soviet Government represents an obstacle to the settlement of disputes which have arisen under the Treaties of Peace.⁵

In the light of the foregoing, the United States Government hopes that, on further reflection, the Soviet Government will see fit to reconsider its decision as conveyed in the Embassy’s note of June 11, 1949, and will instruct its representatives at Sofia, Budapest, and Bucharest to meet with their respective American and British colleagues as the latter requested in their letters delivered on May 31, 1949.

Washington, June 30, 1949.

1. The text of this note was released to the press on July 1. A similar but briefer note was sent by the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Soviet Ambassador in the United Kingdom on June 30 and was released to the press that same day.
2. Supra.
3. Ante, p. 248.
4. Not printed, but see editorial note, p. 247.
5. Regarding the discussions in the United Nations General Assembly, Third Session, Second Part, during April 1949 leading to the adoption of a resolution regarding the violation of human rights in Hungary and Bulgaria, see editorial note, p. 243.