274. Editorial Note

Secretary of State Herter left Washington at 4:05 p.m. on April 27 for meetings with the Foreign Ministers of France, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the United Kingdom at Paris, April 29 and 30. He arrived at Orly Field the following day at noon, attended a luncheon at the Embassy at 1:15, and discussed the Foreign Ministers meeting with President de Gaulle at the Elysée Palace at 4 p.m. (see Document 277).

On April 29 Herter discussed the draft report of the Four-Power Working Group with Foreign Minister Brentano at 9:15 a.m. and with Foreign Minister Couve de Murville at 10, before attending the first and second quadripartite Foreign Ministers meetings at the Quai d’Orsay at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. His business meetings concluded with a conversation with Foreign Secretary Lloyd at the U.S. Embassy at 5 p.m. For records of the first four meetings, see Documents 278281. Memoranda of Herter’s discussion of Middle East topics, Spain, and NATO, USDel/MC 4–7, are in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 560, CF 1271.

On April 30 the Foreign Ministers completed their meetings with sessions at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. In addition to attending these meetings Secretary Herter met with Admiral Burke at 4 p.m. to discuss France and NATO and at 6 p.m. participated in a briefing for Secretary General Spaak on the results of the Foreign Ministers meetings. Only the record of the third Foreign Ministers meeting is printed (Document 282), while the fourth and the briefing for Spaak are summarized in footnotes to it. A memorandum of the conversation with Admiral Burke, USDel/MC/8, is ibid., CF 1276.

On May 1, following a press conference at 11 a.m. and a meeting with Prime Minister Debré at 3:30 p.m., Secretary Herter left Paris at 7, arriving in Washington at 8 a.m. the next day. A transcript of the press conference was transmitted in Tousi 366 from Paris, May 1. (Ibid., Central Files, 396.1–PA/5–159) A memorandum of Herter’s conversation with Debré is printed in volume VII, Part 2, Document 109.

Documentation on Herter’s trip to Paris, including memoranda of conversation, telegrams to and from the U.S. Delegation and to and from the Secretary of State, orders of the day, chronologies, and briefing papers are in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 560, CF 1268–1277; a less complete collection of documentation on the trip is ibid., Central File 396.1–PA; Ambassador Bruce’s recollections of the meetings are ibid., Bruce Diaries: Lot 64 D 327. A memorandum of the conference at Gettysburg at 11 a.m. on May 2 during which Herter briefed the President on his trip is in Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, DDE Diaries. An extract from this briefing is printed in volume VII, Part 2, Document 110.