Preparations for the meetings: preliminary tripartite conversations at Washington and New York, August–September 1950

Editorial Note

During June and July the Governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France exchanged views as to the date and place for the next Foreign Ministers meeting. Because the fifth North Atlantic Treaty Council meeting and the fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly were scheduled for New York, the three Western Allies agreed to hold the meeting in that city September 12–14. In the course of these communications it became apparent that each Government had been dissatisfied with the rigidity and complexity of the Foreign Ministers meeting in May, and they decided to forego bilateral discussions and hold only tripartite preliminary talks.

In the middle of June drafting of an agenda for the preliminary talks began, and, in order to treat the topics fully, it was agreed to reduce their number in comparison with the total discussed in May. A seven-point agenda was tentatively agreed, including the following items: I. United Nations problems, II. North Atlantic Treaty questions, III. German questions, IV. Policy toward the Soviet Union, V. East-West trade, VI. the Far East, VII. Security in the Near East and Africa. Conversations on item I by members of the three United Nations Delegations proceeded in New York from August 21 to September 6; items II and III were discussed concurrently in London by the North Atlantic Treaty Deputies and the Intergovernmental Study Group on Germany; while the remaining topics were considered in Washington by members of the British and French Embassies and officials of the Department of State from August 29 to September 1. Following each series of preliminary talks the Governments took time to digest their substance before the Foreign Ministers met.

In preparation for the preliminary and ministerial meetings the Department of State during August drew up a series of papers, designated by the indicator SFM D, on all topics likely to be discussed in the talks.

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The following documentation presents material on the United States aims in the meeting, the preliminary talks in New York and Washington, and relevant texts or extracts from the SFM D documents which the editors have deemed necessary for the full exposition of United States policy. Additional documentation on the negotiations leading to the date, place, and preliminary agenda is in file 396.1 NE/6–2050 ff. A set of the SFM D documents is in the CFM Files: Lot M–88: Box 152. Lot M–88 is a consolidated master collection of the records of conferences of Heads of State and Foreign Ministers meetings for the years 1943–1955 prepared by the Department of State Records Service Center. For documentation on the London discussions of the North Atlantic Treaty Deputies, see pages 231 ff.; documentation on the work of the Intergovernmental Study Group on Germany is scheduled for publication in volume IV.