861.24/514½
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Acting Secretary of State
The Soviet Ambassador called to see me this afternoon at his request. The Ambassador was accompanied by Messrs. Lukachev,31 Seldyakov and Gromyko. I requested Messrs. Acheson, Curtis and Henderson to be present at the interview.
The Ambassador presented me with two lists—first, the breakdown of the nine-point urgent defense matériel request he had made of me last week, and, second, a list constituting a series of requests for the placing of orders in this country covering defense needs of a less urgent character.
I told the Ambassador that, as he knew, Mr. Acheson and his assistants were personally handling the matter of Russian requests and Russian orders and that I had been informed by Mr. Acheson that he was prepared this afternoon to take up with the Ambassador a considerable number of the points contained in the nine-point request program the Ambassador had given me last week and was in a position to make concrete suggestions with regard to the handling of these specific points. I also stated that Mr. Acheson would desire to take up with the Ambassador the request of this Government to purchase certain strategic materials in the Soviet Union. I suggested that the meeting consequently adjourn and that these detailed and technical discussions take place in Mr. Acheson’s office.
- Konstantin I. Lukashev, chairman of the board and president of the Amtorg Trading Corporation, New York, N. Y.↩