Office of the Historian

Conference files, lot 60 D 627, CF 204

No. 450
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Chinese Affairs (McConaughy) to the Counselor of the Department of State (MacArthur)1

top secret
Berlin, February 10, 1954.

Subject: Five Power Conference: Developments of February 10, 1954

Meeting with British and French Far Eastern Men:

I met with Allen and Roux at 10:00 a.m. We had a long and important discussion which revealed that both the British and French are in favor of giving some ground on our draft Resolution,2 as a result of the position which Molotov took at the first Restricted Meeting. They jointly worked out a proposed new draft which embodies their ideas. The new draft undoubtedly reflects the views of Eden and Bidault. A copy is enclosed.

This draft would eliminate the references to conduct of Communist China and its proof of “spirit of peace”. It would hinge the Four Power consultation on the conditions for an Indochina Conference merely on the discussions at the Korean Political Conference and the situation in Southeast Asia. In the preamble, all reference to the difficulties encountered in convening the Political Conference, and to the Korean Armistice Agreement and the UNGA Resolution would be eliminated as needlessly offensive to the Soviets and the Chinese Communists. I gave them due notice of the serious doubts I entertained as to the possibility of our going along with any of these changes.

In view of the importance of the views expressed and the likelihood that they will be pressed by Eden and, less vigorously, by Bidault when they meet with the Secretary tomorrow, I have written [Page 1017] a full memorandum on the subject addressed to the Secretary and sent through you.3

It would seem highly desirable that the Secretary allow sufficient time tomorrow morning for a thorough airing of this issue with Eden and Bidault, so that a firmly agreed position may be reached before the second Restricted Meeting.

[Enclosure]4

Draft No. 13, Prepared by Members of the British and French Delegations at the Berlin Conference

top secret
Berlin, February 10, 1954.

The Foreign Ministers of France, the United Kingdom, the U.S.S.R., and the United States, meeting in Berlin,

Taking into account the need to establish by peaceful means a unified and independent Korea as an important step toward the reduction of international tensions and the re-establishment of peace elsewhere in Asia;

Agree to invite representatives of the Chinese People’s Republic, the Republic of Korea, the Korean People’s Democratic Republic and such other countries which provided armed forces to serve under the U.N. Command in Korea as may desire to participate, to meet with representatives of the four countries at a Political Conference at Geneva on April 15 to ensure the peaceful settlement of the Korean question;

Agree further that in the light of the discussions at the above mentioned Conference and of the situation in South East Asia, the four powers will settle by common agreement the conditions for the convening of another conference designed to restore peace in Indo-China.

It is understood that neither the invitation to, nor the holding of, the above-mentioned Political Conference shall be deemed to imply diplomatic recognition in any case where it has not already been accorded.

  1. A notation on the source text indicates that it was seen by Secretary Dulles.↩
  2. Transmitted in Dulte 44, Document 436.↩
  3. A copy of this four-page memorandum is in Conference files, lot 60 D 627, CF 215.↩
  4. No enclosure was attached to the source text. The enclosure printed here was attached to the memorandum referred to in footnote 3 above.↩