840.70/10–1444: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10:08 p.m.]
8753. To Berle from EITO Delegation. At close of the week American and British EITO Delegations stand together in insisting that, having agreed that Article VII, sections 2 and 6, shall provide only for recommendations by the organization, Article VIII, sections 2, 4 and 5, must, for the organization to command respect and function effectively, contain specific commitments to carry out its recommendations made under the relevant sections of Article VII. Soviets insist that specific commitments deprive the organization of its coordinating and consultative character to which they say they thought they had secured our agreement, enable it to issue orders, and are in derogation of the sovereignty of the member governments. They so far refuse to go farther than to accept in these sections of Article VIII [Page 825] general commitments to cooperate fully with the organization in carrying out its functions under the relevant sections of Article VII, Our position is that while we agree the organization should be primarily coordinating and consultative, it must have the minimum of specific commitments mentioned above if it is to meet the needs for which it is being created.
While the Soviets say their instructions on these points are unequivocal, we believe there is a reasonable possibility that they are sufficiently impressed by our arguments and the firmness of our stand to change their position if they have the discretion, or to seek new instructions. In the meantime the Soviet amendments to the draft agreement upon which we are in accord are being distributed to the conferees by the Soviets and will be supported by ourselves and the British. Soviets will reserve their position on the points where we are in disagreement in the hope that we may all agree later so that the British and ourselves can then support amendments that they will offer.
Soviets have not yet designated their nominee to Interim Commission. Clay however has been in contact with Barrington-Ward and with SHAEF, SACMED, ACC, etc. We suggest Department should execute and forward at once instructions to Clay in the terms of the draft directive. [EITO Delegation.]