740.0011 European War 1939/21043¾
Memorandum by the Assistant Chief of the Division of European Affairs (Henderson)82
Naturally the decision as to whether this Government should, as General Sikorski suggests, support the views expressed by the Polish Government to the British Government with regard to the conversations at present taking place between Great Britain and the Soviet Union rests with the President.83
If my understanding is correct that we consider the conversations taking place between Great Britain and the Soviet Union as a strictly British-Soviet matter and that we do not consider ourselves bound by the outcome of these conversations, it would appear illogical for us to suggest to the British Government that the Polish Government be included in the conversations. Any step taken by us in that direction would indicate that we might regard understandings reached as a result of these conversations as having force so far as other United Nations are concerned.84
- This memorandum was sent to the Under Secretary of State, Sumner Welles, and to the Acting Chief of the Division of European Affairs, Ray Atherton.↩
- An attached note of April 17, 1942, by Under Secretary of State Welles reads: “The President has informed me that he approves my statement to the Polish Ambassador regarding General Sikorski’s suggestion, namely, that the President had already said all that he found necessary to state on this issue.”↩
- Mr. Atherton wrote at the end of this memorandum: “Our telegram of Dec. 5th [1941] to London it w[oul]d seem to me defines our position” See telegram No. 5682, December 5, 1941, Foreign Relations, 1941, vol. i, p. 194.↩