Office of the Historian

327. Telegram From the Delegation to the Foreign Ministers Meeting to the Department of State0

Geneva, May 22, 1959, 8 p.m.

Secto 108. Paris pass USRO. Tenth Session, May 22, Gromyko Chairman, short (3:30 to 4:43 p.m.).

Secretary commented on principal security aspects peace plan and on certain Gromyko remarks thereon (full text Secto 107).1

Couve made statement2 re solution Berlin problem in peace plan, saying no need mention Berlin in plan but Soviets have stressed it.

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Reviewed legal aspects which established Berlin as entity separate from four occupation zones and pointed out this separation preserved when FedRep established. Noted proposals re Berlin submitted as pre-figuration German reunification and adopted Austrian voting procedure which had worked well and gave Soviets measure of control.

Gromyko made short statement3 stressing importance of concluding peace treaty and offering to include new article in Soviet draft treaty to effect that treaty would not affect rights and obligations flowing from participation FedRep and GDR in economic organizations including regional ones. Question participation therein should be settled by competent German organizations.

Lloyd said first reaction to Gromyko’s statement was no useful purpose served by discussing individual articles before fundamental principles settled, i.e., reunification of Germany.

Herter
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–GE/5–2259. Official Use Only; Priority. Repeated to Bonn, London, Moscow, Paris, Berlin, and USUN. The U.S. Delegation verbatim record of the session, US/VRS/10 (Corrected), and the summary of the verbatim record, US/VRS/10, May 22, are ibid., Conference Files: Lot 64 D 560, CF 1355.↩
  2. Dated May 22. (Ibid.) For text of Herter’s statement, circulated as RM/DOC/20, May 22, see Foreign Ministers Meeting, pp. 174–178 or Cmd. 868, pp. 92–95.↩
  3. For text of Couve de Murville’s statement, circulated as RM/DOC/38, June 10, see Foreign Ministers Meeting, pp. 178–181 or Cmd. 868, pp. 95–98.↩
  4. For text of Gromyko’s statement, circulated as RM/DOC/25, May 25, see Foreign Ministers Meeting, p. 182 or Cmd. 868, pp. 98–99.↩