396.1 GE/3–2554: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Dillon) to the Department of State
3532. Repeated information London 838 Moscow 278. Limit distribution. Bidault this morning gave me at some length his general impression of what the Soviet position would be at Geneva. He said that yesterday Vinogradov had called on him, accompanied by a counselor of Embassy and had talked for about an hour. Three quarters of an hour had been devoted to the Geneva Conference and 15 minutes had been devoted to the EDC. Vinogradov had made no attempt whatsoever to connect the two subjects. Bidault had the impression that Vinogradov was really and sincerely concerned with Geneva and that his representations regarding EDC were merely for form’s sake.
On Geneva, Bidault said his personal impression was that the Soviets were really frightened of their Chinese ally. He felt that the Soviets for their own reasons sincerely desired a period of peace, and that they were deeply afraid that their Chinese friends might drag them into an adventure which they themselves did not at all desire. [Page 484] For this reason, Bidault said, he felt that the Soviets were really desirous of achieving peace, or at least a cease-fire in Indochina. He felt that the Soviets at Geneva, in spite of any position they might feel they had to take publicly, would be hoping for US assistance in controlling Communist China. Bidault said that this was his strong personal impression which he had gathered at Berlin and which had now been reinforced by his conversation with Vinogradov.1 He asked that his views be conveyed personally to the Secretary.
- Marginal notation on source text read as follows: “French and Soviets in same position for different reasons.”↩