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

662 001/3–2552 Telegram

No. 79
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Cumming) to the Department of State¹

secret
niact

Moscow, March 25, 1952—5 p.m.

1529. Mytel 1527, Mar 25, rptd London 231, Paris 644, Bonn 44, Berlin 80.² Vyshinsky recd me 3 p.m. He was in good form with customary merrily malicious twinkle in his eye and looked ruddy and well though he said he had been ill. After exchange amenities I told him purpose my call and at his request gave him orally full summary note.³ He took notes and at end my exposition said he wld pass note to his govt; that it required full study to define Sovs future attitude re contents note; at present only necessary say few words in preliminary way:

(1) With regard to question UN Commission, Sov position has been known to US Govt since sixth session General Assembly.

(2) Sov position on question of “participation in organizations not compatible with principles of UNO” well known and in this connection he wished “recall that Sov deleg introduced a resolution that participation of the countries in certain blocs such as, for example, NATO was not compatible with UN”; he thought that “this fact wld give a clue to Sov Govt position on this question”.

(3) As to frontier question Vyshinsky said that it seemed to him that Potsdam Conf finally defined Pol and Ger frontiers and therefore statement in US note to contrary seemed to him unfounded. “One shld not confuse final decisions with putting seals on the document.”

(4) As to formation Ger armed forces, it was unnatural for a sovereign state to have such forces for its defense. “If I am not mistaken, US Govt took this point of view with regard to Jap at the time the separate peace treaty was concluded, though unlawfully, at San Francisco”; that treaty provided for Jap armed forces “why not then similar forces for Ger as in the case of Ital, Bulg, Fin, et cetera?”

I said that my govt’s note spoke for itself and its text contained answers to his comments which I wld, however, report as Mr. Vyshinsky’s preliminary observations.

Interview took about 30 minutes and atmosphere entirely relaxed.

Cumming

1. Repeated to London, Paris, Bonn, and Berlin.
2. Telegram 1527 reported that Cumming had an appointment to see Vyshinsky at 3 p.m. (662.001/3–2552)
3. For final text of the note delivered to Vyshinsky, which is the same except for a few minor textual differences as that transmitted in telegram 2209 to Bonn, supra, see Department of State Bulletin, Apr. 7, 1952, pp. 530–531; AFP, vol. II, pp. 1797–1798; Documents (R.I.I.A.) for 1952, pp. 89–91.