740.5/11–350
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
| Participants: | Mr. Henri Bonnet, French Ambassador |
| The Secretary | |
| Mr. Perkins, Assistant Secretary, EUR |
I told the French Ambassador that I had asked him to come in to inform him of our concern about Moch’s attitude while here in Washington. I told him that we had sent a full message to Ambassador Bruce asking him to discuss the situation with Messrs. Pleven and Schuman, and that this message had been sent with the full concurrence of the Defense Department and the State Department, and that, it had been reviewed by the President. I asked him if he would be good enough to inform Mr. Schuman of this and tell him that we attached great importance to it. I told him that I did not propose to discuss it here as I saw hazard in having two channels of communication from two different places which would simply create confusion. I told him that the press statements which General Marshall and I had issued here were an attempt to create as favorable an atmosphere as possible so that our difficulties might be resolved, and that accordingly I was very shocked by the statement Mr. Moch had made which showed a most rigid attitude. I further stated that what I had said about the views of other countries were as we knew them to be.
Ambassador Bonnet tried to make some explanation of the reasons for Moch’s press conference and the way it was handled, pointing out that the French Plan had been misinterpreted in the U.S. and that he was only trying to make it clear. Ambassador Bonnet also said that he had read in the newspapers that a very stiff note would be sent to Paris. I replied that this was completely erroneous, that no note was being sent to Paris, and that all we proposed was an oral communication.