Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams

NLT(Nava Aidel194 R OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE DECLASSIFIÉD WASHINGTON E.O. 12065, Sec. 3-402 State Dept. Guidelines, March 6, 1982 April 19, 1951 By, DEB NLT, Date 9-4-85 T € SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS FOUR-POWER - The 32nd session of the quadripartite talks PARIS TALKS in Paris yesterday resulted in a fruitless repetition of previous arguments. Although restrained in his comments, Gromyko did not add anything new to his preliminary remarks of the previous day on the latest revised agenda which was tabled by the US, UK and France on Tuesday. FRANCE Ambassador Bruce reports that tension between the US and French Governments over the amount and method of American assistance to the French re- armament program for the period ending June 30, 1951, has now reached a point where a little more strain could bring about a very damaging crisis in French-American relations. The Ambassador states that this situation stems primarily from conflicting interpreta- tions of the agreement reached last October and from misunderstand ings of unilateral actions taken by the two governments under that agreement. The French first asked for an excessive amount of aid and after an agreement was reached drastically curtail- ing their request, they reduced their metropolitan defense program substantially without prior consultation with US representatives. Although Pleven was given assurances during his Washington visit that American assistance would be forthcoming as foreseen in the agreement, the US unilaterally shifted to a different method of financing. The French now feel that the US has imposed unilaterally a limit on com- - bined ECA and MDAP aid thus implying rejection of a mutual discussion of the French estimates of their needs. The French also feel that the US is now considering making even allotments yet to come from the combined aid figure conditional upon immediate restoration of certain items in the French military budget. The Ambassador believes that, in their present form, the US suggestions to this end comprise a conflict- ing, extensive, and ill-defined series of recommendations. They do not constitute a workable action program. FOP SECREI