701.4161/38: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Thurston) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 5—8 a.m.]
624. The press today publishes the following Foreign Office statement:
“On June 4, Mr. Le Rougetel, the British Chargé d’Affaires, called on Comrade Molotov, the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the U. S. S. R., and informed him of the intention of the British Government to replace Mr. Seeds in the post of British Ambassador to the U. S. S. R. by Mr. Cripps, who will have the rights of an ordinary Ambassador without any extraordinary functions. Comrade Molotov replied that the Soviet Government does not object.”6
With regard to final phrase of the foregoing statement a Secretary of the British Embassy has informed a member of the Embassy staff in strict confidence that the Soviet Government was requested to accept Sir Stafford Cripps as a special Ambassador but declined to do so. The same informant stated, however, that he did not expect that Cripps would remain in Moscow as Ambassador for more than a brief period.
- On the same day the French Chargé informed Molotov of the desire to replace Admiral Naggiar as French Ambassador by Erik Labonne, to which Molotov foresaw no objection.↩