750G.00/12–2453:Telegram

No. 156
The Ambassador in Italy (Luce) to the Department of State 1
top secret
priority

1983. Noforn. Preparatory my departure had long discussion with Pella.2 Re Trieste he referred to information he had received from British Ambassador yesterday (Embtel 19713) re possibility secret unconditional meeting of Ambassadors. Pella stated firmly he could not accept attend any such meeting be it pre-secret conference or labelled any other way at which all five sat around same table. He convinced Tito would probably leak out that his proposal for a pre-conference without conditions had been forced on Italians. Any impression of this nature would have very bad effects in Italian Parliament and with public opinion. Furthermore if any such pre-conference broke up in failure Pella would be forced to go back to instance October 8 be implemented.

He then made the following suggestion:

[Page 357]

He would have no objection to accrediting a duly authorized representative to meet in say Paris or London to discuss Italian point of view with big three. Furthermore, he would have no objection if at same time Yugoslavs also sent duly authorized representative to same town to have separate talks with big three and explain Yugoslav point of view. Big three could then explain each point of view to other party separately in hope of bringing them more in line. Pella hoped in this way these bilateral discussions might well lead to a five power conference with hope it would succeed in reaching Trieste solution.

Luce
  1. Repeated for information to Paris, London, Belgrade, and Trieste.
  2. Luce left Rome on Dec. 24 to return to the United States for consultations in Washington. A summary of her entire conversation with Pella, which also dealt with Pella’s planned program to combat communism in Italy and the question of the European Defense Community, among others, was an enclosure to despatch 1306 from Rome, Dec. 28. (765.00/12–2853)
  3. Not printed. (750G.00/12–2353)