Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, National Security Affairs, Volume II, Part 2

600.0012/6–954

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Consultant to the Secretary of State for Atomic Energy Affairs (Smith)

top secret

Washington, June 9, 1954.

• Subject:
• Proposed Reply to Soviet Note of April 27.¹

• Participants:
• Mr. E. E. Tomkins, British Embassy
• Mr. Gerard Smith, S/AE

Mr. Smith delivered to Mr. Tomkins two copies of the proposed reply to the Soviet note of April 27. Mr. Tomkins asked whether the reply would commit the United States to setting up an international agency without Russian participation. Mr. Smith stated that it would not. Mr. Tomkins stated that his personal estimate of the U.K. position on an international agency without Soviet participation was that if the United States Government felt very strongly in favor of such an agency, the United Kingdom would go along with it. However, in view of the relatively small size of the British atomic energy program, he felt that the U.K. would not have much to contribute to such an agency if it first had carried out its obligations to other members of the British Commonwealth.

Mr. Tomkins expressed the hope that any information flow which might result from the existence of an international agency would not prevent continuance of technical information exchange between the United States and the United Kingdom and Canada.

Mr. Tomkins stated that he believed a committee was presently studying in London the question of an international atomic energy agency without Russian participation.

Mr. Tomkins asked if the United Kingdom, after submitting its views on the reply to the Soviet note of April 27, would see a copy of the final document before it was sent to the Russians. Mr. Smith advised him that such a copy would certainly be made available to the United Kingdom. Mr. Smith advised Mr. Tomkins that the United States proposed to submit this document for comment to the French and Canadian Governments, and transmit a copy of the final document to the South Africans, Australians, Belgians and Portuguese for information purposes only.

Mr. Smith pointed out the importance of getting a reply to the Soviets as quickly as possible.²

1. For text of the Soviet note of Apr. 27, see Department of State Bulletin, Oct. 4, 1954, pp. 482–5484. The proposed reply under reference here, dated June 8, is not printed. (600.0012/6–854) The text corresponds in large part to that of the reply actually transmitted to Soviet Ambassador Zarubin on July 9, p. 1473.
2. On June 9, Smith also transmitted copies of the proposed reply to Jacques Martin, First Secretary of the French Embassy, and George Glazebrook, Canadian Minister. Smith’s brief memoranda of the two conversations are in file 600.0012/6–954.