740.00119 (Potsdam)/7-3145
The Ambassador in France to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs
Paris, July 31, 1945
No. 533
Excellency: Acting under instructions from my Government, I have the honor to transmit an invitation on behalf of my Government to the Government of France to participate in the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Five Great Powers.
Your Excellency will note that my Government attaches much importance to the participation of the French Government in the proposed arrangements and hopes to receive an early and favorable reply to this invitation.
I avail myself [etc.]
JEFFERSON CAFFERY
[Enclosure]
The Governments of the United Kingdom, the United States and the USSR consider it necessary to begin without delay the essential preparatory work upon the peace settlements in Europe. To this end they are agreed that there should be established a Council of the Foreign Ministers of the Five Great Powers to prepare treaties of peace with the European enemy States, for submission to the United Nations. The Council would also be empowered to propose settlements of outstanding territorial questions in Europe and to consider such other matters as member Governments might agree to refer to it.
The text adopted by the Three Governments is as follows:
It was agreed that the three Governments should each address an identical invitation to the Governments of China and France to adopt this text and to join in establishing the Council.
It was understood that the establishment of the Council of Foreign Ministers for the specific purposes named in the text would be without prejudice to the agreement of the Crimea Conference that there should be periodical consultation between the Foreign Secretaries of the United States, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom.
The Conference also considered the position of the European Advisory Commission in the light of the agreement to establish the Council of Foreign Ministers. It was noted with satisfaction that the Commission had ably discharged its principal tasks by the recommendations that it had furnished for the terms of surrender for Germany, for the zones of occupation in Germany and Austria, and for the inter-Allied control machinery in these countries. It was felt that further work of a detailed character for the co-ordination of Allied policy for the control of Germany and Austria would in future fall within the competence of the Allied Control Commission at Berlin and the Allied Commission at Vienna. Accordingly the Conference agreed to recommend to the Member Governments of the European Advisory Commission that the Commission might now be dissolved.
In agreement with the Governments of the United Kingdom and USSR, the United States Government extends a cordial invitation to the Government of France to adopt the text quoted above and to join in setting up the Council. The United States Government attaches much importance to the participation of the French Government in the proposed arrangements and it hopes to receive an early and favorable reply to this invitation.
The three governments also considered the position of the European Advisory Commission in the light of the agreement to establish the Council of Foreign Ministers. It was noted with satisfaction that the Commission had ably discharged its principal task by the recommendations that it had furnished for the terms of surrender for Germany, for the zones of occupation in Germany and Austria and for the Inter Allied Control machinery in those countries. It was felt that further work of a detailed character for the coordination of allied policy for the control of Germany and Austria would in future fall within the competence of the Allied Control Commission at Berlin and the Allied Commission at Vienna. Accordingly, the three governments have agreed to recommend to the French government that the Commission might now be dissolved.