Office of the Historian

107. Telegram From the Embassy in Switzerland to the Department of State1

Bern, December 19, 1955—noon.

643. FPD official informed Embassy officer Zehnder told Polish Minister (Embtel 623, December 14)2 pressure of Swiss parliamentary and public opinion for termination of participation in NNSC was reaching proportions Swiss Government could no longer disregard. To Minister’s comment that “something had changed“ since their last previous interview, Secretary General replied that parliamentary committees had met in meanwhile and that their attitude convinced government additional delay in settling matter would be unacceptable. [Page 197] He also told Polish Minister that if Swedes withdrew from NNSC there could be no question of Swiss remaining.3

Melbourne
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 795.00/12–1955. Confidential. Repeated to Stockholm.↩
  2. In telegram 623 from Bern, December 14, the Embassy reported that, according to a Swiss official, the Swiss Minister in Warsaw had emphasized Swiss interest in the elimination of the fixed NNITs, and Secretary General Zehnder was expected to take the same line with the Polish Minister in Bern. The indications in Bern were that the Swiss were prepared to wait until January 10 for a Communist reply to the Swedish proposal concerning the NNSC. (Ibid., 795.00/12–1455)↩
  3. A note on the source text in an unknown hand reads in part: “According to a Canadian report Zehnder told Pole he had until January 1 to make a decision.”↩