Telegram from Ambassador Warren Austin to Secretary of State Dean Acheson

16 INCOMING TELEGRAM Department of State DUPLICATE IN W. P. FILE TELEGRAPH BRANCH M-X TOP SECRET Action Centrol: 4170 UNA Rec'd: December 8, 1950 FROM: New York 9:33 p.m. Info SS TO: Secretary of State G EUR NO: DELGA 394, December 8, 8:11 p.m. w From n.y. NEA FE PRIORITY. Delga 396, DCR 12/9 Re Chinese Communists conversations with Rau. Confirming Gross --Hickerson telecon this afternoon, following is report of Gross conversation with Rau December 8. Rau said that yesterday Chiao had asked Menon with regard to Asiatic declaration what assurances there would be that the UN forces would not cross the 38th parallel at some later date. Rau asked me what our position was on that matter. This led to a general discussion of the cease- fire situation and our attitude toward it along the following lines. I said that we were not soliciting a cease-fire arrangement of any kind, were not taking any initiative looking toward one, and were not suggesting that anyone else take such initiative. However, in the event that someone else entirely on his own initiative proposed a cease-fire arrangement, we would be prepared to consider it on its merits, provided it contained no political conditions of any kind and provided that in all respects it was a clearly fair and honorable suggestion. I repeated that these comments on my part were not intended to suggest or imply any encouragement of initia- tive, and to stress this point I described the present mili- tary situation as from our point of view making it possible for us to "let nature take its course in the UN. With regard to the specific question Rau had asked, I said that while I had no instruction on the matter except to listen to any comment or questions that might be raised by others, it seemed to me that the basis of the question was not clear. I said that, of course, looking at the matter from a purely logical point of view, the UN forces would respect any cease-fire line or else it would not be a "cease-fire line. I added that the main problem was to avoid any political implication of any kind with regard to future settlement. This, I repeated, we were not pre- pared to consider at the present time in connection with any cease-fire (over) TOP SECRET REPRODUCTION OF THIS +14 MESSAGE IS PROHIBITED