350. Telegram From the Delegation at the Foreign Ministers Meetings to the Department of State 1
Secto 235. East-West Contacts. At plenary session four experts morning November 10, Vinogradov as Chairman suggested experts review proposals contained in Western and Soviet documents submitted October 312 in order to work out common language for inclusion in agreed Four-Power report.
Jackson then made statement (reported in separate cable3) that there had been no agreement in working groups on most important questions and that therefore he believed only appropriate course was for each expert submit individual report to his Minister.
French and British experts supported US statement.
Vinogradov then stressed seriousness with which Soviet Delegation had sought agreement on East-West contacts. After Western representatives had made brief responses to his remarks, Vinogradov declared meeting adjourned.
We are now considering with British and French line to be taken by Western Foreign Ministers when East-West contacts comes up for Ministerial discussion, probably on Monday or Tuesday. We are also working out language for joint Western statement of position which could be helpful in countering paper which Molotov will probably submit outlining Soviet stand on East-West contacts.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–GE/11–1055. Confidential. Repeated to Moscow, Paris, Bonn, London, and the Mission at the United Nations.↩
- For texts of the Western and Soviet proposals, see Foreign Ministers Meeting, pp. 239–240 and 245–248, or Cmd. 9633, pp. 163–166.↩
- Transmitted in Secto 236 from Geneva, November 10. (Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–GE/11–1055)↩