840.51 Frozen Credits/497: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Thurston) to the Secretary of State
[Received 1:20 p.m.]
1065. As I feared that the substitution of terminology authorized in your 473, August 22, 6 p.m., would not satisfy the Commissariat for Foreign Affairs and that to return my amended note to them without prior consultation would merely expose us to its rejection a second time, I had Ward confer with Valkov this morning on the subject.
As a result of their conversation it was apparent that what the Commissariat for Foreign Affairs really objects to is any implication of a distinction between the Soviet Union “proper” and territories which it has recently acquired and incorporated therein. While Valkov was somewhat reluctant to specify the exact parts of my note to which objection was taken, Ward eventually extracted from him a statement that any terminology would be objected to by the Commissariat for Foreign Affairs which implied that the areas acquired by the Soviet Union during the past year have ever been “occupied” by Soviet forces or under their “control” or even any reference to such areas by name unless preceded by the word “former”.
The alternative courses which are afforded us, therefore, are to acquiesce in the Soviet attitude and entirely redraft our note to conform to their requirements or to accept its rejection. I shall appreciate your instructions.