Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, Central and Eastern Europe; The Soviet Union, Volume IV

120.32148/3–2150: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Embassy in Poland

confidential

Washington, April 7, 1950—7 p. m.

169. Re Embtel 399 Mar 15¹ and Desp 463 Mar 21.² If no objection, deliver fol Aide-Mémoire to Acting FonMin in reply his communication Mar 15.

(Begin verbatim text) Reference is made to the Fon Ministry’s Aide-Mémoire of Mar 15 requesting reductions in the size of the staffs of the Emb’s Army, Navy, and Air Attaches.

Re the internatl legal principle, asserted in the Min’s communication, that the receiving state may, in the exercise of its sovereign rights, prescribe the number of dipl personnel which it will receive within its territory from another state and with reference to the Pol Gov’s desire to apply to this question the principle of reciprocity, the views of the US Gov are as fols:

The Gov of the US knows of no rule of internatl law or practice under which the Pol Gov would be entitled to fix the number of dipl officials and other employees of the Amer Emb in Warsaw. According to well-established internatl usage, the receiving state generally refrains from actions designed to limit or fix the number of dipl personnel coming to it from another state. This widely-accepted practice, as the Ministry is aware, has hitherto governed the reception of Pol dipl personnel in the US and the reception of Amer dipl personnel in Pol. The US Gov is therefore surprised by the desire of the Pol Gov suddenly to depart from this well-established rule in the conduct of its dipl relations with the US.

Respecting the Min’s demand for staff reductions at the Emb in Warsaw, it must be pointed out that the Pol Gov’s request concerns numerous Amer dipl personnel previously accepted by Pol in accordance with existing internatl custom. Furthermore the withdrawal of such duly accepted personnel at the request of receiving state usually follows a declaration that they are personae non gratae. The Gov of the US, in fact, regards the Min’s demand for staff reductions as tantamount to declaring a large number of the Emb’s personnel personae non gratae.

In reviewing the status of the Service Attaches’ staffs the Gov of the US was compelled to take into account the arbitrary attitude of the Pol Gov in this matter, and has now decided to reduce the regular staffs (Amer citizens) of the Emb’s three Service Attachés to a total of four officers and eight other auxiliary personnel. (End verbatim text)³

For Emb’s info, personnel allocations for Attaché staffs currently being determined by respective Service Depts here and will be promptly communicated to Emb. Dept understands allocations comprise total four officers and eight auxiliary military personnel, including two radio operators.⁴

Acheson

1. Supra.
2. Not printed, but see footnote 3, supra.
3. In his telegram 494, April 8, from Warsaw, not printed, Ambassador Gallman reported that he had that day called on Acting Foreign Minister Wierblowski and handed him an aide-mémoire as instructed here. Gallman orally emphasized the American view set forth in the aide-mémoire that there was no international law or diplomatic practice in support of the Polish Government’s arbitrary demand. After familiarizing himself with the communication, Wierblowski denied the contention that the Polish action constituted declaring Embassy staff members personae non gratae (124.483/4–850). In an aide-mémoire of May 9 to the Embassy in Poland, not printed, the Polish Foreign Ministry offered a formal, detailed legal argument in defense of its action in demanding a reduction of the military staff of the Embassy. A copy of the aide-mémoire was transmitted to the Department of State as an enclosure to despatch 729, May 10, from Warsaw, not printed (120.32148/5–1050).
4. Telegram 509, April 13 and despatch 612, April 18, from Warsaw, neither printed, reported that the reduction of service personnel had been essentially accomplished by April 15 (120.32148/4–1350 and 120.32148/4–1850).