84. Telegram From the Embassy in France to the Department of State 1
3069. Reference Department telegram 2576.2 Massigli sent for me this afternoon and referred to Mendes’ belief that something ought to be done concerning East-West talks before Senate vote. He said that while Mendes felt his task in Senate might be easier than in Assembly, he had only gotten Assembly approval by repeated forcing of votes of confidence, weapon not available to him in Senate. Since US and UK were adamantly opposed to any approach to Moscow prior to ratification, Mendes was prepared to fall back on Eden’s suggestion (Department telegram 2536 January 153) of tripartite working group. Under Mendes’ instructions, Massigli had this noon asked Jebb to sound out British Foreign Office as to their views of setting up such a tripartite working group one or two weeks hence. He asked me to do same with Department.
Massigli said Mendes realized importance of including Germans in such working group but did not want them included at start for two reasons: One was that existing divergence of views among three powers with respect East-West talks could better be ironed out before Germans participated, and secondly, it would be politically impossible for Mendes to have German participation prior to Senate vote.
I said I would, of course, seek Department’s views immediately but that I already knew Washington felt strongly it would be mistake to make any new move with respect East-West talks prior to Senate debate which appeared likely to begin within three weeks, [Page 130] and that on purely practical grounds it would seem difficult for respective governments to accomplish necessary preparatory work to enable working group usefully to convene before that. I also referred to Bundestag debate at approximately same time and expressed belief that prior establishment of study group which did not include Germans would increase Adenauer’s difficulties.
Saying that he had not discussed details with Mendes and was accordingly speaking personally, he thought it possible that Mendes would agree, if arrangements could be worked out tripartitely on satisfactory basis, that announcement be made before Senate vote that tripartite study group would meet at early date (presumably after Senate vote) to prepare for eventual East-West meeting, announcement to state that Germans would be invited to participate in talks at relatively early stage.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1/1–2055. Secret. Repeated to London, Bonn, and Moscow.↩
- Same as telegram 1973, supra .↩
- See footnote 5, Document 82.↩