MEETING OF FOREIGN SECRETARIES
1. During the recent Council of Foreign Ministers Session Dr.

Evatt secured acceptance in principle by both Byrnes and Bevin
that there should be a peace conference at which all relevant
issues would be finally determined by all the Allies which
actively fought in the war against the Axis.

2. In relation to the Moscow talks this means that any discussions
must be purely preliminary and general in character pending
detailed review and final decision by all countries directly
concerned.

3. In particular Items 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the tentative agenda (see
my immediately following telegram [1]) concern us vitally. Such
matters as the terms of reference for the Far Eastern Commission
concern Australia and all other nations members of that body and
should not be discussed in the absence of the great majority of
such members. Without their participation arrangements such as the
four Power veto in voting procedure now proposed in the latest
United States draft terms of reference may well be written into
the Commission's Constitution without consultation with some two-
thirds of its members. Such a situation is completely
unsatisfactory. We are emphatically opposed to the veto provision.

Settlement of the terms of reference of the Commission as of the
Allied Council for Japan should be discussed freely by all members
of the Commission.

4. We are advised that Bevin has insisted with Byrnes' concurrence
that the Moscow talks will be exploratory only and that other
countries will have to be consulted. If you should be consulted
you should remind Bevin of the understanding referred to in
paragraph 1 above and stress that Far East matters should not be
discussed in absence of Powers directly concerned and that any
discussions between the Great Powers on such matters should be
exploratory and preliminary in character.

5. We are not sending you instructions on agenda items as we wish
to maintain principle that matters such as are on agenda should be
subject to discussions at a conference to which we would send
representatives.