740.00119 Council/1–2346
Memorandum Prepared by the Drafting Committee of the Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers4
Preparation of Peace Treaties With Italy, Roumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland
1. In the drawing up by the Council of Foreign Ministers of treaties of peace with Italy, Roumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland, only members of the Council who are, or under the terms of the Agreement establishing the Council of Foreign Ministers adopted at the Berlin Conference are deemed to be, signatory of the surrender terms, will participate, unless and until the Council takes further action under the Agreement to invite other members of the Council to participate on questions directly concerning them. That is to say:
[Page 724]- (A)
- The terms of the peace treaty with Italy will be drafted by the Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and France.
- (B)
- The terms of the peace treaties with Roumania, Bulgaria and Hungary by the Foreign Ministers of the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom.
- (C)
- The terms of the peace treaty with Finland by the Foreign Ministers of the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom.
The Deputies of the Foreign Ministers will immediately resume their work in London [on the basis of the decisions agreed at the first plenary conference of the Council of Foreign Ministers].
(Words in square brackets not agreed by Soviet member of drafting committee, referred to the three Foreign Ministers for decision.)
2. When the preparation of all these drafts has been completed, the Council of Foreign Ministers will convoke a conference for the purpose of considering treaties of peace with Italy, Roumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland. The conference will consist of the five members of the Council of Foreign Ministers together with all members of the United Nations which actively waged war with substantial military force against European enemy States, namely:
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
- United Kingdom.
- United States of America.
- China.
- France.
- Australia.
- Belgium.
- Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
- Brazil.
- Canada.
- Czechoslovakia.
- Ethiopia.
- Greece.
- India.
- Netherlands.
- New Zealand.
- Norway.
- Poland.
- Union of South Africa.
- Yugoslavia.
- Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
The conference will be held in Paris not later than the 1st May, 1946.
3. After the conclusion of the deliberations of the conference and upon consideration of its recommendations the States signatory to the terms of armistice with Italy, Roumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland or regarded as such (France, for the purpose of peace treaty with Italy) will draw up final texts of peace treaties.
4. The final texts of the respective peace treaties as so drawn up will be signed on behalf of the States represented at the conference, which are at war with the enemy States in question. The texts of the respective peace treaties will then be sent to the other United Nations which are at war with the enemy States in question.
5. The peace treaties will come into force immediately after they have been ratified by the Allied States signatory to the respective [Page 725] armistices, France being regarded as such in the case of Italy. These treaties are subject to ratification by the enemy’s States in question.
- This draft was prepared by the Drafting Committee in pursuance of the decision of the Foreign Ministers at their informal meeting of December 21, 2:30 p.m.; see item 12 of the United States delegation minutes of that meeting, p. 710. This draft served as the basis of discussion for the Foreign Ministers at their informal meeting of December 22, noon; see the United States delegation minutes of that meeting, p. 727.↩