Austria.

1. As instructed in your telegram 19 [1], we asked the United
Kingdom authorities to place request before Control Council for
Austria for accreditation of an Australian military mission in
Vienna early this month. The United Kingdom representative placed
request in the first instance before quadripartite political
division-for examination. The Soviet representative at once
objected that neither Australia nor India (which is the only other
British application so far) could be regarded as one of the
'United Nations chiefly interested' in the sense of Article 12 of
the E.A.C. agreement on control machinery. [2] He argued that they
were not eligible to appoint military mission and that if they
wished to be represented in Vienna they should take advantage of
the Allied Council's recent decision to permit the Austrian
Government to exchange political representatives with other
countries.

3. According to Foreign Office, it has so far proved impossible to
move the Soviet representative from this attitude and a report
will probably be submitted to the Executive Committee at its next
meeting with a minority recommendation by the Soviet
representative that these two missions should not be authorised.

[3]

4. White and I recently visited Vienna unofficially and we do not
feel circumstances warrant our having permanent mission there.

Periodical visits by the Berlin Mission should be sufficient to
enable us to keep in touch. If further visits are to be made
however, representatives will have to be accredited in some form.

5. in view of the above please advise whether you wish the
application in its present form to be maintained or whether you
have any alternative in mind. [4]

HOOD