396.1 GE/4–2954: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Department of State
Secto 34. Repeated information Paris 141, Moscow 24. In conversation between US adviser and Laloy (French delegate) latter said it seemed clear to him that all tactics of the Soviet Union here were directed toward one principal objective, the disruption of the Franco–US alliance. It was for this reason that the Soviets have minimized procedural difficulties since they want to see this conference get under way and to make use of it for the aforementioned purpose. It was therefore essential, Laloy said, that the French and Americans find a common ground and stick to it. Laloy was asked if he meant by common ground some kind of position on an Indochinese settlement, and he replied “no, I meant a common determination by the US and French to prevent the taking over of Indochina by Ho Chi Minh.”