861.24/855b
The President of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Soviet Union (Stalin) to President Roosevelt 60
My Dear Mr. President: Acknowledging the receipt of your message of 13th February,61 I would like first to say that I share your confidence that the efforts of the newly-appointed Ambassador of the United States to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Admiral Standley, of whom you speak so highly and in such warm terms, to [Page 692] bring our two countries still closer to one another, will be crowned with success.
Your decision, Mr. President, to place at the disposal of the Soviet Government another billion dollars, in accordance with the law for the supply of armaments under the Lend-Lease Act, on the same conditions which applied to the first billion, is accepted by the Soviet Government with sincere gratitude. With regard to your enquiry I have to inform you that, at the present moment, in order not to delay matters, the Soviet Government is not raising the question of the modification of the conditions attaching to the granting by your Cabinet of the above-mentioned second billion dollars or of taking into consideration the extremely strained state of the resources of the U. S. S. R. in the war against our common foe. At the same time I entirely agree with you and should like to express the hope that at a later date we shall be able jointly to fix a time when it will appear desirable to both of us to revise the financial agreements now concluded in order to pay special attention to the above mentioned circumstances.
I should like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the fact that the Soviet organizations when realizing the loan granted to the U. S. S. R. are at present experiencing great difficulties with regard to the transport of armaments and materials purchased in the United States to U. S. S. R. ports. We would consider the most suitable arrangement for the transport of armaments from America, in the circumstances, would be that which is successfully adopted for the transport of armaments from England to Archangel, but which heretofore has not been possible to apply to deliveries from the United States. According to this arrangement, the British military authorities delivering armaments and materials, designate the ships themselves, as well as organizing their loading in the port, and their convoy to the port of destination. The Soviet Government would be extremely grateful if the same arrangements for the delivery of armaments and the convoying of ships to the U. S. S. R. ports, could be adopted by the United States Government also.
With sincere respect, I remain,