270. Editorial Note

Acting on instructions from the Foreign Ministers (see Document 251), the Four-Power Working Group resumed its deliberations, this time at London, in an attempt to iron out the points among the four Western powers that were still unagreed. Hillenbrand, Laloy, Hancock, and von Baudissin continued as the heads of the United States, French, British, and West German Delegations, respectively. By April 22 an agreed draft report was completed for the Foreign Ministers as well as a summary report on the work of the group that was given to the North Atlantic Council on April 23. (Telegram 5520 from London, April 22; Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/4–2259) For extract from the draft report, April 23, see Document 271.

The North Atlantic Council discussed the draft report at its meeting on April 27 (see Document 275) and the Foreign Ministers of the United States, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the United Kingdom devoted four meetings to the report, April 29–30. (See Documents 280282) A copy of the final report, comprising: 1) “The Phased Plan for German Reunification, European Security and a German Peace Settlement,” 2) “Preliminary Draft Principles of a German Peace Settlement,” 3) “Tactics at a Foreign Ministers Conference” with four annexes, and 4) “Berlin,” is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 560, CF 1276. For text of the phased plan, which was submitted at the Foreign Ministers Meeting on May 14 as the Western Peace Plan, see Documents [Page 639] on Germany, 1944–1985, pages 624–629; Foreign Ministers Meeting, pages 55–60; or Cmd. 868, pages 218–223; for text of the draft principles, see The New York Times, May 20, 1959, page 15.

Documentation on the meetings of the Four-Power Working Group is Department of State, Central Files, 396.1, 396.1–GE, and 762.00.