Editorial Note
On May 14 Assistant Secretary of State Dean Rusk and British Minister of State Hector McNeil met to discuss the United States and United Kingdom positions on the Greek dispute. McNeil explained that Foreign Secretary Bevin wished to discuss the entire Balkan situation with the Secretary of State in Paris (where the Council of Foreign Ministers was shortly scheduled to convene) before any definite proposals were made in conversations with Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Gromyko. Rusk and McNeil agreed to meet with Gromyko again before the Tatter’s departure for Moscow in order to clear up any misapprehensions Gromyko may have had on the early discussions of the Greek situation and to avoid a possible Unfavorable propaganda position which might arise from leaving Gromyko without a reply to his earlier proposals.
Later on May 14 Rusk and McNeil met for a few minutes with Gromyko. McNeil emphasized to Gromyko that the United Kingdom and the United States could not presume to dispose of the Greek problem without the participation of the Greek Government, nor did they wish to interfere with or change existing United Nations action on the Greek question in which the northern frontier was the main issue. Rusk agreed with McNeil’s presentation and repeated that he could not in any way speak for the Greek Government. Rusk stated that he was personally convinced that the real issue was the aid and assistance illegally furnished to the Greek insurgents across the northern Greek frontier, and that if this situation were restored to normal, the internal situation in Greece would improve rapidly. Gromyko then made three points: (1) the USSR would be willing to [Page 321] participate in a commission of “great powers” to supervise a new Greek parliamentary election; (2) the USSR would participate in a commission of “great powers” to “control the border between Greece and its northern neighbors”; and (3) all foreign military assistance, including material and personnel, should be withdrawn from Greece. Neither McNeil nor Rusk commented on Gromyko’s points. The three men agreed that their talks had been informal and personal. Rusk reiterated that the United States could not enter into negotiations on Greek questions except in an appropriate forum in which the Greeks themselves were present.
Formal memoranda of these two conversations have not been found. The information set forth above is derived from various papers in the files of the Department of State. Secretary of State Acheson reported upon this Rusk–McNeil–Gromyko conversation during his meeting with President Truman on May 16.