Office of the Historian

No. 462
Editorial Note

February 12, 1954

There was no meeting of the United States Delegation or the Tripartite Working Group on February 12. At around 11 a.m. the three Foreign Ministers met at the ACA building and discussed, inter alia, the question of a five-power conference. According to a memorandum by McConaughy, dated February 12, the conversation went as follows:

“The Secretary explained why it would be highly undesirable to have a premature conference on Indochina. The Secretary considered it essential to go ahead with the Korean Political Conference first and proceed with the Navarre Military plan for Indochina while we observe the course followed by Communist China in the Korean Political Conference and in Southeast Asia.

“Mr. Eden called the Secretary’s analysis ‘decisive’ as far as he was concerned and indicated that he agreed with the Secretary.

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“The Secretary pointed out the dangers in our getting involved in detailed discussions of the devious and ambiguous Soviet proposal. All three Ministers agreed to stand together in support of the French proposal and in opposition to that of the Soviets.” (Conference files, lot 60 D 627, CF 204)

No other record of this Foreign Ministers meeting has been found in Department of States files.