740.5/12–3054
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of German Affairs (Lyon) to the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Merchant)
Mr. Leishman has just visited me on a matter which we both hope is now academic.
The British Embassy here has received an urgent telegram from London which indicates that Sir Anthony Eden does not agree to the Secretary’s proposal for an immediate meeting between himself, the Secretary and Adenauer in the event of failure by the French Parliament to approve the Paris Agreements.1 In the message from London, Sir Anthony refers to his personal message to Mr. Dulles in which he proposed “in addition to Adenauer I suggest that representatives of [Page 1537] other interested countries participate” or words to that effect.2 The instruction to the British Embassy makes it clear that what Sir Anthony Eden had in mind was a meeting between him and the Secretary followed “a day or two after” by an 8-Power meeting either in London or some other European capital. He also indicates that he had hoped such a meeting would have taken place with the greatest of urgency.
Sir Anthony adds that if Mr. Dulles concurs in his views in this matter certain textual changes would be required in the various proposed statements and in this event he would have no objection to having Adenauer shown the proposed joint US–UK declaration.
The British telegram made it apparent that the Foreign Office had not as yet paralleled to Hoyer-Millar our instructions to Dr. Conant.