Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Germany and Austria, Volume VII, Part 1

Conference files, lot 60 D 627, CF 212: Telegram

No. 471
The Secretary of State to the Department of State¹

top secret priority

Berlin, February 14, 1954—noon.

Dulte 71. From Secretary, eyes only Acting Secretary to determine distribution. At Molotov’s request I met with him this afternoon (13 Feb.) at the ACA Building before conference plenary session.² Molotov (who was accompanied, as before, by Ambassador Zarubin and interpreter Troyanovski) opened by saying that he had promised to clarify the Soviet views on the question of the participation of other countries at a subsequent stage in the negotiations. He thereupon handed me an Aide-Mémoire, a verbatim text of which follows:

• “1. In the Aide-Mémoire presented by the Ambassador of the USSR in Washington to the Secretary of State of the USA on January 19, 1954,³ the Soviet Government expressed the view that at a subsequent stage of the negotiations on the atomic problem all the powers bearing primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace and international security should be invited to take part.

  In a private talk with Mr. Dulles on January 30⁴ last, V.M. Molotov explained that the powers referred to are the five powers, namely the United States of America, the Soviet Union, Britain, France and the Chinese People’s Republic.

• 2. In that talk Mr. Dulles expressed the view that Britain, France and also Canada and Belgium should be invited to join in the negotiations on the atomic problem, and he explained that Canada and Belgium should take part as countries possessing resources of atomic materials.
• 3. In connection therewith the Soviet Government states that it would have no objection to the participation in the negotiations on the atomic problem at an appropriate stage, besides the five powers, of Canada and Belgium, and also believes it necessary to have Czechoslovakia invited to take part in the said negotiations as a country possessing atomic materials.”

I glanced at the document and said that I could only take note of it without expressing an opinion on it at this time. I then went on to say that we were agreed that the first stage would be bilateral and would involve consideration on our part of the memo Molotov had given me at our last meeting⁵ together with the consideration by the Soviet Government of the U.S. plan now in process of preparation which I hoped to hand to the Soviet Ambassador in Washington shortly after my return. I added that I hoped we could make progress through diplomatic channels in this phase and not, in so important a subject, become involved in the procedural difficulties which would arise from the question of participation of Communist China.

Molotov merely replied that negotiations in Washington between Ambassador Zarubin and myself were in accordance with the U.S. proposal.⁶

Dulles

1. Drafted by Merchant.
2. A memorandum of this conversation, the same in substance as the report below, is in Conference files, lot 60 D 627, CF 203.
3. Regarding the meeting at Washington on Jan. 19, see telegram 487 to Moscow, vol. ii, Part 2, p. 1345.
4. For a report on this meeting, see Dulte 23, Document 393.
5. For text of this memorandum, see Dulte 23, Document 393.
6. On Feb. 16 Secretary Dulles wrote to Bidault and Eden briefing them on his discussion with Molotov and enclosing copies of the Soviet aide-mémoire. Copies of these messages are in file 600.0012/2–1654.