Office of the Historian

54. Letter From Secretary of State Dulles to Foreign Secretary Lloyd1

Washington, December 8, 1958.

Dear Selwyn: Thank you for your message of November 262 on the question of rejecting Hungarian credentials.

In light of all the circumstances, we have reluctantly come to the conclusion that it would not be desirable to press for rejection of Hungarian credentials at the present session of the General Assembly. However, as a minimum we would by our statements make clear the continued concern of the Free World about the situation in Hungary.

We will, as you suggest, take action as in the past to keep the Hungarian credentials in suspense, thereby seating the Hungarians provisionally without either approval or disapproval of the Assembly. We also believe it is desirable for the Assembly to renew its condemnation of the continued violation of General Assembly resolutions by the USSR and Hungary and to take action which will provide for [Page 89] continuing UN machinery to keep this matter under constant surveillance.3

Sincerely yours,

Foster4
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 310.2/12–858. Confidential. Transmitted priority to London in telegram 5478, December 8, which is the source text, for delivery to Lloyd. An earlier draft of the letter stated that the United States would press for rejection of the Hungarian Delegation’s credentials, cited the reasons for this decision, and requested that Lloyd support it. (Tedul 5 to San Francisco, December 3; ibid., 310.2/12–358)↩
  2. Document 45.↩
  3. Gadel 176, December 8, instructed the mission to work toward keeping the Hungarian credentials in suspense and to seek broad cosponsorship of a resolution condemning the actions of the Hungarian and Soviet regimes and providing for continued U.N. machinery regarding Hungary. (Department of State, Central Files, 320.11/12–858)↩
  4. Telegram 5478 bears this typed signature.↩