Premier Klement Gottwald and the late Jan Masaryk, as Foreign Minister, headed a Czechoslovak delegation to Moscow during the summer of 1946 to consider various matters, including the negotiation of an aviation agreement. It was my lot at the time to be Minister-Counselor of the Czechoslovak Embassy in Moscow. In that capacity I participated in the events leading up to the signature of the treaty. The account of what occurred may add to the growing lore on the subject of negotiating with the Soviet Government.
Talks had been initiated with Soviet representatives considerably before the delegation left Prague. The negotiations followed the pattern which is now commonplace in the preparation of aviation agreements. A text was prepared which followed the general plan of the standard type established by the International Civil Aviation Organization. In accordance with this pattern each state customarily extends to the other contracting party the right to fly over its territory and to land.