Statement by the President Following a Report by Secretary Acheson on His Meeting With the Ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Nations.

THE SECRETARY of State this morning gave me a full report of his meeting in Brussels with the foreign ministers and defense ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty countries.

I was greatly encouraged to hear from the Secretary of the serious way in which the representatives of the North Atlantic countries went about the job of bringing to life the military and economic agencies of the North Atlantic community.

The Secretary reported that the appointment of General Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, greatly heartened and inspired the European nations who see in it new proof of the firm intention of the free nations to stand together.

Within the next few weeks the soldiers in Europe of the members of the North Atlantic community will be training together. Many of our hopes have now become facts with all that this means for the defense of the free world.

The Secretary also reported on his informal conversations with French Foreign Minister Schuman and British Foreign Minister Bevin. These conversations resulted in full agreement on how the three governments, pursuant to the North Atlantic Council's decision, would take up with the German Government the problem of German contributions to the defense of Western Europe.

I am in full agreement with the Secretary that the spirit shown by the countries of Western Europe has justified our confidence that the free states of Europe mean business about setting up our common defense system. The success of this meeting will be a matter of great satisfaction to all the American people.

Let there be no mistake about it--the unity of the nations of Western Europe and of the North Atlantic area is vital to their security and to ours.