14. Editorial Note

On May 14, the Soviet Union and the Eastern European Communist nations formed a security arrangement with the signing of a multilateral treaty of “friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance” at Warsaw. The pact was subsequently ratified by all signatories on May 30. The general perception in the United States Government of the Warsaw Pact was that it was an interim arrangement of tactical significance in East-West relations. Allen Dulles briefed the National Security Council on June 9 on the establishment of the Warsaw Pact. (Memorandum of discussion at the 251st NSC meeting; Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records)

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Documentation on Warsaw Pact developments subsequent to its formation is in Department of State, Central File 760.5. Text of the pact is printed in Documents (R.I.I.A.) for 1955, pages 193–197.