Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, President Harry S. Truman, Trygve Lie, and Byron Price

MA - TOP OLCRET 13 May 29, 1950 142 Conversation between the President and The Honorable Trygve Lie The meeting was arranged at Mr. Lie's request. Present were The President, Mr. Lie, Mr. Byron Price and Mr. Acheson. Mr. Lie was in the President's office for 15 minutes, the first five of which were taken up with photographs. Mr. Lie said to the President that in his interview with Mr. Stalin he had stated that his impression from his talk with the President was that the President had a most friendly personal feeling for Mr. Stalin and that the President said that he would be glad to receive Mr. Stalin as his guest in Washington. Mr. Lie then re- ported that he had said to Mr. Stalin that perhaps some other part of the United States, such a.s Key West, or in a neutral country, perhaps Switzerland or Sweden they could meet. Mr. Stalin's view was that there were so many difficulties now existing between the East and West that a meeting of the heads of state would not be profitable. He thought that at some time considerably in the future when these difficulties had been resolved except for one or two problems, a meeting might be useful. He did not foresee this at the present time. Mr. Lie then reported his discussion of possible periodic meetings of the Foreign Ministers in the Security Council. To this Stalin replied that acceptance of the Chinese Communitst was a condition precedent to Russian return. After that condition had been fulfilled, it might be possible to have the meetings of the Security Council. In principle he accepted the idea and in principle he accepted Mr. Lie's memorandum as a working paper on which possible agenda. for such meetings might be based. The President replied that since the acceptance of the Chinese Communists in the United Nations was a condition precedent and since the Chinese Communists had made that extremely difficult, he did not regard it as necessary at this time to comment on future meetings of the Security Council. The President had the gravest DECLASSIFIED E.O. 12065, Sec. 3-402 State Dept. Guideline, June 12 1979 TOP SEGRET F.R. or w 1950 we. ir pc. 3P3 By NLT- He NARS, Date 025-18-81