795.00/12–3151: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Bruce) to the Secretary of State
niact
3910. Re Deptel 3756, Dec 29. After series of conversations which I had today with Pleven, Schuman, Parodi1 and other FonOff officials, we have obtained agreement of Fr Govt to text of our proposed statement regarding Korea, with exception of final sentence of our revised final para. Fr proposal for this sentence is as follows: “The situation thus created wld involve grave risks of an extension of hostilities”. [Page 1472] Fr have agreed to this translation of their proposed text which reads as follows: “La situation ainsi cree comporterait des graves risques d’une extension du conflit”. Fr do not care whether we translate “conflit” by conflict or hostilities.
Fr feel very strongly that our proposed wording for this final para is too much in language of ultimatum for public release at time of armistice. They suggest, however, that they wld be agreeable if simultaneously with public release it be made quite clear by us as negotiating party to Russians and also to Chinese Communists if occasion presents itself as regards latter that consequences of renewed aggression wld be extremely grave and wld in all probability involve impossibility of confining hostilities within frontiers of Korea. They think gravity might be added if it were done through our Embassy in Moscow, and they wld be prepared to support it. However, it shld be a statement to which we wld not give publicity.
Fr have abandoned their position regarding (a) omission of UN political objective; (b) wording which might be considered applicable to Indo-China and (c) have suggested wording for consequences of “renewal of armed attack” which is substantively equivalent to our original language. We believe this is best deal obtainable with French.
For Dept’s info Schuman will be spending next two days in Metz and will be unavailable discuss this matter.
Sent Dept 3910. Rptd info London 1045.
- Alexandre Parodi, Secretary-General, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.↩