840.51 Frozen Credits/497: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in the Soviet Union (Thurston)
499. (Section 1). Your 1065, August 24, 11 a.m.
- (a)
- Section 2 of this telegram contains a revised note which should be delivered to the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs without prior consultation.
- (b)
- If, in your opinion, certain alterations in the note are advisable you should request Department’s authority to make them.
- (c)
- This note should bear the same date as the rejected original contained in Department’s 423 of August 9, 6 p.m.
- (d)
- Should objection be made to the terminology “establishment of Soviet troops”, you may desire to refer to the Tass despatch as reported in your telegram 787, July 2, noon.36
- (e)
- In case officials of the Commissariat should question this note, you may state that in the opinion of your Government the original note was entirely factual and that its rejection by the Soviet authorities was unwarranted; that since your Government has no desire necessarily to wound the sensibility of any Government with which it maintains relations, it has, nevertheless, drastically altered the original note. It cannot, however, make any further changes.
(Section 2). During the last eleven months the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has announced the incorporation into the Soviet Union of certain territories in which nationals of the United States own property or have interests. I have the honor, upon instructions from my Government, to inform Your Excellency that the Government of the United States holds and will hold the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics responsible for all losses to nationals of the United States resulting from acts of nationalization or confiscation, or other acts injurious to the property or interests of such nationals, which have been or may be committed under the direction of, or with the approval of, the Soviet authorities in such territories subsequent to the entry and establishment therein of Soviet troops.
[Page 434]My Government also directs me to invite the attention of the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to the fact that such territories, prior to the establishment therein of Soviet troops, formed either a part of, or the whole of various countries, the governments, institutions, and residents of which have debts aggregating large sums to the Government or nationals of the United States.