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  4. Document 149

396.1 LO/2–1952: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom ( Gifford ) to the Department of State 1
secret
London , February 19, 1952—7 p.m.

3609. Secretary and British French Foreign Ministers did not discuss Austrian affairs in London. Secretary said before leaving for Lisbon that he wld discuss abbreviated treaty and proposed statement [Page 278] with Eden and Schuman in Lisbon2 and that if agreement is reached, the statement will be issued by the three respective Foreign Offices rather than by the Ministers in Lisbon. The reason for this is to avoid associating Austria with NATO. It is possible that agreement on the abbreviated treaty and statement will be reached before the end of this week in which case a statement will be released by the Foreign Offices immediately thereafter.

Gifford
  1. This telegram was repeated for information to Vienna, Paris, Lisbon, Bonn, and Moscow.↩
  2. For Acheson’s discussion of Austria with Eden on Feb. 22, see Battle’s memorandum of conversation, p. 131; for the discussion of Austria with Eden and Schuman on Feb. 26, see the Laukhuff–Reinstein minutes, p. 163.↩