Council of Foreign Ministers

Austrian State Treaty: In furtherance of the September 14, 1951, statement of the French, United Kingdom and United States foreign ministers, that there was “no justification for any further delay in the conclusion of a treaty for the reestablishment of a free and independent Austria”,1 the United States deputy for the Austrian State Treaty (Reber) issued an invitation on December 28, 1951, suggesting that a meeting of the deputies be held at London on January 21, 1952. The governments of the United Kingdom and France immediately accepted the invitation, but the Soviet reply, dated January 18, made the following objections that: 1) no action had been taken on the Soviet proposal to conduct an investigation on the extent of Austria's implementation of the four powers' decisions on demilitarization and denazification; and 2) conclusion of an Austrian treaty was unwise until the western powers had implemented their obligations under the Italian treaty, particularly with regard to the creation ofthe Free Territory of Trieste which had been “turned into an Anglo-American military base. The reply of the western powers, dated January 19 pointed out that: 1) their views on denazification and demilitarization had been made clear in the Allied Council in Vienna, “the proper body to consider such questions”; 2) the Trieste issue had no relation to the Austrian treaty; and 3) that the express purpose of the meeting which had been called for January 21 was to conclude an Austrian treaty as speedily as possible, to which end they reiterated their invitation to the Soviet deputy.