611.6131/597: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Thurston) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 7—5:11 a.m.]
978. Your 415, August 5, 6 p.m., was not received until 9:45 o’clock this morning. In view of your desire to include in the exchange the customary notes regarding Soviet coal it was necessary to reach agreement with the Commissariat for Foreign Trade on this point before signature could take place. For this reason it was not possible to sign the notes until this evening as reported in the Embassy’s 976, August 6, 9 p.m.
The exchange of notes consists of the following:
- 1.
- The letter referred to in the Embassy’s 937, July 31, 9 p.m. [a.m.] as document (a) which concludes Accept Mr. Chargé d’Affaires the assurances of my highest consideration. In this letter as signed the words “of August 4, 1937” follow “Ambassador of the United States of America” and not “exchange of notes” as given in the Embassy’s 937.
- 2.
- An identical note mutatis mutandis from me to Mikoyan, addressed Mr. People’s Commissar and concluding Accept Mr. People’s Commissar the assurances my highest consideration.
- [3.]
- A note from me to Mikoyan inquiring as to the value of intended Soviet purchases in the United States during the ensuing 12 months and identical to that addressed to him by Grummon72 last year. This note, however, begins Mr. People’s Commissar and [ends [Page 457] Accept] Mr. People’s Commissar the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.
- 4.
- A reply from Mikoyan to the foregoing identical to document (c) in the Embassy’s 937 introduces open door principle pursuant to the Department’s 405, August 1, 5 p.m. This note concludes Accept Mr. Chargé d’Affaires the renewed assurance of my highest consideration. In this note the words Union of Soviet Socialist Republics are written in full in all cases and not abbreviated.
- 5.
- A note from me to Mikoyan beginning Mr. People’s Commissar identical to Grummon’s note to him last year regarding the admission of Soviet coal which concludes Accept Mr. People’s Commissar the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.
- 6.
- A note in answer thereto from Mikoyan to me identical to his reply to Grummon last year. All documents are dated August 6. All documents from Mikoyan to me are signed A. Mikoyan and addressed Mr. Walter Thurston, Chargé d’Affaires of the United States of America, Moscow, and all notes from me to Mikoyan are signed Walter Thurston and addressed Mr. A. I. Mikoyan, People’s Commissar for Foreign Trade of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Moscow.
Mikoyan stated that the approval of the extension of the commercial agreement by the Council of People’s Commissars will be given tomorrow and he expressed the desire that the President issue his proclamation thereof tomorrow so that both may be announced simultaneously.
I have informed the American journalists in Moscow that the exchange of notes took place tonight and that it is identical to the exchange of last year with the exception of an addition thereto made necessary by present world conditions. I have not given them the texts. Owing to the garbled state in which the last paragraph of your 415, August 5, 6 p.m., was received and to serious discrepancies between the figures cited therein and those released last year regarding trade statistics I did not give them any prepared statement on this subject.
- Stuart E. Grummon, First Secretary of Embassy in the Soviet Union and Chargé d’Affaires.↩