308. Editorial Note
At the Secretary’s Staff Meeting on October 7, Dillon reported that the Central Intelligence Agency had information indicating that Yugoslavia planned to establish diplomatic relations with East Germany, but was delaying because of the possible effect on the current Yugoslav-U.S. aid negotiations. According to the minutes of the meeting, Secretary Dulles replied that Tito had told him as much at their meeting in November 1955. The Secretary directed that the reaction of the West German Government be ascertained before the matter was discussed with the Yugoslav Government. (Department of State, Secretary’s Staff Meetings: Lot 67 D 75)
At a meeting on October 14 with Acting Secretary Christian Herter, Robert Murphy, and Edward L. Freers, Ambassador Mates announced Yugoslavia’s decision to recognize East Germany the following day. According to the memorandum of the conversation, Mates said that recognition was not a move against West Germany, but was Yugoslavia’s contribution to a peaceful settlement of the German problem. Herter replied that Yugoslavia’s action would be seen as an abandonment of its policy of non-alignment, and as a [Page 787] concession to Soviet pressure. Mates assured Herter that this was not the case. (Ibid., Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199)