Office of the Historian

276. Memorandum of a Conversation, San Francisco, June 23, 1955, 1:15 p.m.1

PMCG (SF) MC–10
San Francisco, June 23, 1955, 1:15 p.m.

PARTICIPANTS

  • The Secretary
  • Mr. Molotov
  • Mr. Troyanovsky (interpreter)

. . . . . . .

7. Far East.

Mr. Molotov then said the three topics he mentioned for discussion at Geneva were illustrations and would not necessarily preclude their bringing up other matters. He thought also that the Soviets would propose a six-power conference on Far Eastern matters. I asked whether the number had been increased from five to six to make place for the Chinese Nationalists. Mr. Molotov said no—the number of six was proposed to include India.

In the course of our discussion, Mr. Molotov also raised the question of the Tuapse ship and crew. He said he wished the United States could do something to relieve that situation. I replied that I had already mentioned this topic to George Yeh, the Chinese Nationalist Foreign Minister,2 but pointed out that the United States was not in a position to give orders to the Chinese Nationalist Government. Mr. Molotov said he believed the United States had certain influence. I said that we, of course, were greatly concerned over the Americans who were held prisoner by the Chinese Communists. I mentioned that Krishna Menon was working on this subject but I [Page 611] did not think he was improving matters much. Mr. Molotov replied that he had the impression that Menon was trying hard and making some progress. He also said he was interested that Krishna Menon was getting a much better press in the United States than was the case a month ago.

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1 GE/6–2355. Extract. Top Secret. Apparently prepared by the Secretary, although the source text is unsigned and bears no indication of the drafter. The conversation took place during and after luncheon at Foreign Minister Molotov’s residence during the San Francisco meetings in Hillsborough, California. The other subjects of discussion related to the forthcoming conference at Geneva and to the United Nations.↩
  2. In a conversation on June 21 between Dulles and Yeh, recorded in a memorandum of conversation by Sebald, which touched on a variety of subjects. Yeh had told Dulles that he thought the Tuapse seamen would be released within a few days. (Ibid., Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 480)↩