61. Telegram From the Delegation at the North Atlantic Council Ministerial Meeting to the Delegation at the Vienna Ambassadorial Conference 1
Polto 57. From USDel. I am not disposed to come to Vienna to sign a treaty which contains clauses which I know Austria does not intend to fulfill, in reliance on a side agreement with Soviet Union of which side agreement, however, the treaty takes no cognizance whatever. Therefore, you are authorized to say that I had assumed that text of treaty will be agreed before my departure for Vienna and that I cannot agree to absence from text of any reference to bilateral agreement between Soviets and Austria on Article 35 matters. You have, I believe, room for maneuver to handle this and I authorize you to agree to any compromise which imports the bilateral into the treaty sufficiently so that we could have a status to be heard and demand arbitration under Article 57 as against future ability Russia arbitrarily to claim a breach and to move back into Austria to seize Article 35 assets. You can state that I do not see how I could depart for Vienna if you are unable to secure such safeguard.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 663.001/5–1055. Secret; Niact. Repeated to London and Washington. The source text is the copy sent to Washington. According to another copy of this message, it was drafted by Merchant and approved by Secretary Dulles. (Ibid., Conference Files: Lot 60 D 627, CF 448)↩