December 24, 1945

New York Times.

The Conference of Foreign Ministers of the U.S.S.R., U. S. A., and Great Britain took the following decisions:

The Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Great Britain and the United States of America announce that they have reached an agreement and that they have approached the Governments of France and China with a request to join the agreement on the procedure of the preparation of peace treaties as stated below:

In the drawing up of the peace treaties with Italy, Rumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland by the Council of Foreign Ministers, only those members of the Council will take part who are, or-in accordance with the agreement on the institution of the Council of Foreign Ministers passed at the Berlin Conference-are considered to be parties who have signed the conditions of surrender, unless or until the Council decides in accordance with this agreement to invite other members to take part in the Council with regard to questions in which they are directly concerned, i.e.:

(A) The conditions of a peace treaty with Italy are to be drawn up by the Foreign Ministers of Great Britain, U. S. A., U.S.S.R. and France.

(B) The conditions of a peace treaty with Rumania, Bulgaria and Hungary by the Foreign Ministers of the U.S.S.R., U. S. A. and Great Britain.

(C) The conditions of a peace treaty with Finland by the Foreign Ministers of U.S.S.R. and Great Britain.

The deputies of the Foreign Ministers will immediately resume their work in London on the basis of an agreement reached on questions that had been discussed at the first session of the Council of Foreign Ministers in London.

As soon as the preparation of all these drafts is completed, the Council will call a conference to discuss peace treaties with Italy, Rumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland. The conference will consist of the five members of the Council of Foreign Ministers and also of all those members of the United Nations which took an active part in the war against enemy states in Europe with substantial military contingents, to wit: U. S. A., U.S.S.R., Great Britain, China, France, Australia, Belgium, White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, Brazil, Greece, the Netherlands, India, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, Yugoslavia and the South African Union. The conference will take place not later than May 1, 1946.

After the conference has concluded its work and its recommendations have been examined, the states which had signed the armistice terms with Italy, Rumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland, and France-which is considered as one of the Allied signatory states as far as the peace treaty is concerned-will draw up, respectively, the final texts of peace treaties.

The final texts of the respective peace treaties thus drawn up will be signed by the representatives of the states represented at the conference and in a state of war with the respective enemy state. The texts of the respective peace treaties will then be submitted to other United Nations in a state of war against the respective enemy state.

The peace treaties will come into force immediately after their ratifications by Allied States who had signed the respective armistice terms and also by France (which is considered as one of them as far as Italy is concerned). The peace treaties are also subject to ratification by the respective enemy states.

The talks on other questions continue in a friendly spirit. There is hope that a communiqué embracing the work of the conference will be issued in one or two days.