35. Editorial Note
On April 20 the tripartite working group at London reconvened to begin drafting a reply to the Soviet note of April 19 (see Document 30). The working group quickly produced an agreed draft which was subsequently revised to take account of minor differences of view, and delivered to the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 22. In their reply the Western powers agreed to a meeting of Foreign Ministers for the signing of an Austrian Treaty and proposed that their Ambassadors in Vienna begin proceedings on May 2 with Austrian participation to achieve an agreed text. For text of this note, see Department of State Bulletin, May 2, 1955, page 733; a copy is also in Department of State, Central Files, 663.001/4–2255. Documentation on the discussions of the working group, including the text of the first draft of the reply, is ibid., 663.001/4–2055 through 2255.
The Soviet reply to this note was handed to the Western Ambassadors on April 26. Although the note stated that the Soviets did not believe that the calling of an Ambassadors conference represented the shortest path to an agreement, they nevertheless agreed to begin the sessions at Vienna on May 2. The text of the note was transmitted from Moscow in telegram 1910, April 26. (Ibid., 396.1–VI/4–2655) The Russian text of the note was transmitted as an enclosure to despatch 419 from Moscow, April 26. (Ibid.)