DEPARTMENT OF STATE Memorandum of Conversation
DATE: January 15, 1951
SUBJECT: Trieste
PARTICIPANTS: Ambassador Tarchiani, Italian Embassy The Secretary of State Mr. Homer M. Byington, Jr., WE
COPIES TO: S/S S/A American Embassy, Rome UNP American Embassy, Belgrade NE(?) USPOLAD, Trieste EUR WE
Ambassador Tarchiani referred to the continuing interest of his Government in the matter of Trieste and inquired whether this subject would be raised in the forthcoming CFM Meeting. I replied that we did not propose to raise this issue. I pointed out that it was not yet decided that there would be a meeting of the Foreign Ministers. The British and French appeared to be in favor of such a meeting but it remained to be seen whether a satisfactory basis could be established on which to hold it. As the Ambassador, knew, the Soviets had consistently been trying to tie the question of Trieste in with that of the Austrian State Treaty which would be a subject of discussion.
I said that the U.S. position on Trieste had not changed from the March 20 Declaration and that it was our view that the best solution would be one which could be arrived at by agreement between Italy and Yugoslavia. I said that if the matter did come up for discussion we would expect to communicate with the Italian Government about it. The Ambassador expressed satisfaction with what I had told him and said that it was exactly what the Italian Government desired. He said that Italy was always disposed to negotiate with Yugoslavia but found the going very difficult and the Yugoslavs very stubborn.
EUR:WE:HMByington,Jr:fa