740.00119 Council/9–1747: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Embassy in the Soviet Union
1741. For the Ambassador from Lovett.
Some time ago Brit Emb proposed to us that CFM deputies meet in London Oct. 15 preparatory to CFM meeting November.5 Although date in Nov. of CFM meeting still not fixed, we indicated agreement with this proposal. French Govt informed Brit that they considered this a waste of time in view of unlikelihood deputies accomplishing anything and countered with a suggestion that the meeting take place one week before CFM meeting. We informed Brit that we are agreeable to this suggestion. Later Brit asked us about fixing date for deputies meeting Oct. 6.
About the same time Brit informed us of their desire to discuss urgently 50–50 financial arrangement for financing US–UK zones in Germany.6 The date for these discussions has been fixed Oct. 8.7 It is necessary of course that Clay and Murphy be in Wash for these discussions. Murphy is Secretary’s deputy on CFM for Germany. He obviously cannot be in both places at once. In these circumstances we suggested to Brit that deputies meeting in London be postponed and we stated that we believed that it would be sufficient for deputies to meet a week or ten days before date set for meeting of CFM.
Gousev has heretofore acted as Soviet deputy on Germany. So far as we know, he has not been replaced. If deputies meet, of course Murphy has to be there and there can be no question of sending a second team.8
In the meantime, Brit have proposed Nov 25 as date for London meeting of CFM. We have replied that we agree to that as a tentative date. If this date is agreed upon by the Four Powers, Oct 6 is obviously [Page 680] too early for meeting of deputies. Brit are now informally suggesting Nov 6 for deputies but we have not yet given final answer on this date.9
In these circumstances, it does not seem necessary to us that Brit tell Sov Govt anything other than that the time of meeting of deputies should obviously correspond to the time of meeting of CFM and that we hope it will be possible to agree on a date in Nov for deputies meeting. We have so informed Brit Emb here. I suggest that you talk to your Brit colleague along these lines. (Sent to Moscow as 1741; repeated to Berlin for Murphy as 1885; to London for Douglas as 4024; to Paris for Caffery as 3515).
- The United States and the Soviet Union had accepted the original British proposal that the Deputies for Germany meet in London on October 1, but in early August the French demurred.↩
- See telegram 3693, August 26, to London, p. 954.↩
- Regarding the United States-United Kingdom discussions to review the financial provisions of the Bizonal Fusion Agreement of December 2, 1946, held in Washington, October 8–December 17, 1947, see the editorial note, p. 968.↩
- In his personal and urgent telegram 2809, September 9, from Moscow, not printed, Ambassador Smith urged against a second postponement of the meeting of the Deputies for Germany even if it necessitated the United States sending a “second team” to London. Smith warned that a request for a postponement of the Deputies meeting would have a very bad psychological effect in Moscow and would provide the Soviet Government with further cause to charge the United States and United Kingdom with “unilateral action, collusion and sabotage”. (740.00119 Council/9–947)↩
- All four members of the Council of Foreign Ministers subsequently agreed to have the Deputies meet on November 6 and the Council on November 25.↩