No. 872
Editorial Note
On June 30 Norbert Bischoff presented a memorandum to the Soviet Government expressing the gratification of the Austrian Government for recent Soviet policies in Austria which had alleviated [Page 1869] to a certain extent the occupation burden. Bischoff, the former Austrian Political Representative to the Soviet Union, had returned to Moscow following the elevation of the Austrian mission to embassy status and his appointment as the new Austrian Ambassador. The text of this memorandum, subsequently referred to as the “Bischoff memorandum,” was transmitted to the Department of State in despatch 2162 from Vienna, June 29. (661.63/6–2953)
In a note to the Austrian Government of July 29, the Soviet Government stated its argument opposing the abbreviated treaty and urged the Austrian Government to withdraw its support of the short treaty draft. The Austrian Government replied in a note delivered in Moscow on August 19 that it no longer supported the abbreviated treaty, to which the Soviet Government responded on August 28 that it desired a clearer statement of the Austrian Government’s views concerning the abbreviated treaty. Extracts of the Soviet note of July 29 are printed in Documents (R.I.I.A.) for 1953, pages 149–150; for the Soviet note of August 29, see ibid., pages 151–152.