740.00119 Control (Rumania)/8–1545
The Secretary of State to the British Chargé (Balfour)
The Secretary of State presents his compliments to the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of Great Britain and refers to the note of the Chargé d’Affaires dated August 15, 1945,65 on the subject of the Allied Control Commissions in Rumania, Bulgaria and Hungary.
The Department of State agrees that it is clearly desirable to take immediate steps to ensure a more effective role for the United States and United Kingdom representatives in the work of the Allied Control Commissions in these three countries.
It is the understanding of the Department that, in accordance with the agreement reached at Potsdam, the proposals made by the Soviet Government on July 12, 1945,66 for the improvement of the procedure of the Control Commission in Hungary are to be taken as the basis for a revision of Control Commission procedures in all three countries. These proposals include the provision that directives involving questions of principle shall be issued to the Hungarian Government by the Chairman of the Commission only after they have been agreed to by the American and British members.
The American representatives on the respective Control Commissions have been instructed by the United States Government to initiate discussions with their Soviet and British colleagues with a view to [Page 596] reaching agreement on definitive statutes for the Commissions. It is hoped that these discussions will result in satisfactory arrangements on the various difficulties, such as those connected with clearance of aircraft and personnel, which have in the past hampered the work of the American and British members.
Pending tripartite agreement on definitive statutes for the three Control Commissions, it is the understanding of the United States Government that those Commissions will function in accordance with the Soviet proposals of July 12 for the operation of the Control Commission in Hungary.
- Not printed; it referred to the interest of the British Foreign Office in the views of the Department of State as to the possibility of applying to the Allied Control Commissions in Rumania and Bulgaria improvements suggested by the Soviet Government in the working of the Allied Control Commission in Hungary, and it concluded as follows: “Mr. Balfour would be glad to learn the views of the Department on this question as soon as may be conveniently possible, since it is clearly desirable that full and early advantage should be taken of the present opening to ensure a more effective role for the United States and the United Kingdom missions in the work of the Allied Control Commissions in the above countries.” (740.00119 Control (Rumania)/8–1545).↩
- See footnote 53, p. 587.↩