Editorial Note
On October 25, 1951, Secretary Acheson departed by ship for Europe where he and his advisers participated in the meetings of the Sixth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations at Paris beginning on November 6. During his stay in Paris, November 2–23, the Secretary of State met on a number of occasions with Foreign Secretary Eden and Foreign Minister Schuman on questions of mutual concern. Since their meetings had to be scheduled around the sessions of the General Assembly, the three Foreign Ministers decided at the conclusion of each meeting when they would meet next. According to the records of the Department of State, Secretary Acheson initiated the meetings with a call on Schuman on November 2. This was followed by bilateral talks with Eden on November 4, 5, 6, and 7 which were largely devoted to the topic of Iran. The three Foreign Ministers met on November 6 and 9 and discussed problems related to the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Because of the press of General Assembly meetings, only one further meeting, that of November 14 between Acheson and Eden, was held until November 20, when Acheson discussed Austria with Schuman and Foreign Minister Gruber. On the 21st Acheson, Eden, and Schuman resumed their meetings, and on the following day they met with Chancellor Adenauer to inform him of the decisions that they had taken with respect to Germany. On November 23 the three Foreign Ministers and their advisers traveled to Rome for the eighth session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Council. While in Rome the three Ministers continued their discusssions on Germany and Austria and briefed the Foreign Ministers of Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands on the decisions that had been taken on Germany. At the same time Acheson and Eden also held three conversations dealing respectively with Egypt, Korea, and the European Defense Community. Secretary Acheson departed from Naples on the SS Independence on December 4, arriving in New York on December 12.
The Department of State drafted two series of position papers in preparation for the meetings of the Foreign Ministers. The first, designated PAR D. dealt only with problems concerning Germany [Page 1313] and numbered nine papers in all. The second, designated NOV D, was prepared for the expected talks between Acheson and Eden and consisted of papers on the Far East, Germany, the British financial situation, and other European questions. Sets of both series of papers are in the Conference files, lot 59 D 95, CF 96–98. In addition to the records in the Department of State two of the main participants, Acheson and Eden, have also written their recollections of the meetings: Acheson, Present at the Creation, pages 511 and 578–587, describes the talks on Iran, Germany, and the subjects before the General Assembly; while Eden, Full Circle, pages 10–13, 17–19, and 217–225, describes the discussion of issues before the General Assembly, Korea, and Iran.
The Foreign Ministers and their principal advisers for the meetings were:
| United States: | Dean Acheson, Secretary of State |
| Robert A. Lovett, Secretary of Defense | |
| Frank Pace Jr., Secretary of the Army | |
| John W. Snyder, Secretary of the Treasury | |
| General Omar N. Bradley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | |
| David K. E. Bruce, Ambassador to France | |
| Walter S. Gifford, Ambassador to the United Kingdom | |
| John G. McCloy, High Commissioner for Germany | |
| W. Averell Harriman, Special Assistant to President Truman and Chairman of the Temporary Council Committee | |
| George W. Perkins, Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs | |
| Harold F. Linder, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs | |
| Colonel Henry A. Byroade, Director of the Bureau of German Affairs | |
| G. Hayden Raynor, Director of the Office of British Commonwealth and Northern European Affairs | |
| Lucius D. Battle, Special Assistant to the Secretary of State | |
| United Kingdom: | Anthony Eden, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs |
| R. A. Butler, Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| Lord de L’Isle and Dudley, Secretary of State for Air | |
| Sir Ivone A. Kirkpatrick, High Commissioner for Germany | |
| Sir Pierson J. Dixon, Deputy Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | |
| Selwyn Lloyd, Minister of State | |
| Frank G. Roberts, Deputy Under-Secretary of State for German Affairs | |
| Sir Reginald J. Bowker, Assistant Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | |
| Cecil C. Parrott, Head of the United Nations Political Department | |
| Charles A. E. Shuckburgh, Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | |
| France: | Robert Schuman, Minister for Foreign Affairs |
| René Mayer, Minister of Finance | |
| Maurice Schumann, Deputy Foreign Minister | |
| Henri Bonnet, Ambassador to the United States | |
| André François-Poncet, High Commissioner for Germany | |
| René Massigli, Ambassador to the United Kingdom | |
| Alexandre Parodi, Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry | |
| Jean Chauvel, Permanent Representative at the United Nations Security Council | |
| Hervé Alphand, Deputy Representative at the NATO Council and President of the European Army Conference | |
| Vincent Broustra, President of the Interministerial Commission charged with preparation for the General Assembly | |
| Jacques Bourbon-Busset, Director of the Cabinet Ministry |
With respect to Germany the three Foreign Ministers approved a draft of a general agreement on relations between the Federal Republic and the three Western Powers to replace the Occupation Statute for Germany and a draft security guarantee. On November 22 the texts of these agreements were communicated to Chancellor Adenauer who approved them. The Ministers also reached agreement on the terms for a German financial contribution to Western defense and on the terms for German security controls to replace the Prohibited and Limited Industries Agreement. For documentation on the Foreign Ministers discussions on contractual relations including the texts of the draft agreement on general relations and the security guarantee, see PAR M–1, PAR M–2, telegrams 3086, and Actel 20, November 22–26, and the communiqué dated November 22, pages 1597, 1604, 1605, 1609. For documentation on their discussion of a German financial contribution, see PAR M–2, PAR M–3, and PAR D–9a, November 26–27, pages 1676, 1681, 1685. For documentation on their discussion of German security controls, see PAR M–1, PAR M–3, and PAR M–4, November [Page 1315] 23–28, pages 1715, 1721, 1726; for Secretary Acheson’s report to President Truman on this subject, dated November 30, see page 1730.
In their discussions on Austria the three Foreign Ministers agreed to call a meeting of the Austrian Treaty Deputies to see whether the Soviet Union would accept the text of the draft Austrian Treaty as it stood at the end of 1950. If, at such a meeting, the Soviet Deputy refused to accept the draft, then further discussions would take place between the three Western governments concerning the introduction of the United States “Abbreviated Treaty” which Secretary Acheson had pressed his colleagues to accept but which both Eden and Schuman were reluctant to introduce at that time. For documentation on the Ministers discussion of the Austrian Treaty, see telegrams 3030, November 20; Secto 68, November 22; and Secto 101, November 28, in volume IV. For a report on Secretary Acheson’s conversation with Gruber on November 20, see telegram 3013, November 20, ibid.
In their initial meetings the three Foreign Ministers discussed questions that were germane to the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly including disarmament, Chinese representation at the United Nations, and the status of Morocco. With regard to the first topic, the Ministers drafted a resolution and agreed on the strategy of its introduction to the General Assembly; with regard to the latter topics, they discussed how each should be handled during the session. For documentation on the question of disarmament, see volume I, pages 443 ff. Regarding Chinese representation and United States interest in the inclusion of the Moroccan question on the agenda of the General Assembly, see volume II, pages 209 ff. and 135 ff.
In his bilateral talks Secretary Acheson discussed Iran and Korea with Eden and the French financial situation with Schuman and other French officials. Acheson was especially interested in obtaining British agreement to the resolution of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) dispute with the Iranian Government. Prime Minister Mossadegh was in Washington at the time, and the communications between Washington and Paris show the efforts of the Secretary of State to persuade the British to modify their stand on Iran, continue negotiations with Mossadegh for a settlement of the dispute, and prevent Iran from falling into the hands of the Communists (see volume V). At the same time Secretary Acheson wanted to keep the British fully informed on the armistice talks in Korea. For records of his conversations with Eden on the subject of Korea on November 28 and 29, see volume VII.
The talks with French officials took place periodically from the time of Acheson’s arrival in Paris until his departure from Rome. The Secretary of State did not participate in all of them, but a general agreement was reached to accord France $650 million in financial [Page 1316] aid by July 1, 1952. For documentation on these talks, see telegrams Actel 2, November 2; 2827, November 13; 2967, November 17; Toeca 1503, November 22; and Secto 111, November 29, volume IV.
From time to time during their meetings the Foreign Ministers also discussed the European Defense Community and arrangements for the Eighth NATO Council Session, Regarding these discussions, see pages 755 ff. and 693 ff.
Index for Parts 1 and 2
Appears at End of
Part
2