Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, The Conferences at Cairo and Tehran, 1943

Roosevelt Papers: Telegram

The President to the Secretary of State¹

secret
urgent

[Washington,] 30 October 1943.

Personal and secret for Secretary Hull only from the President.

Alusna Moscow 301042.²

I am very much surprised about Molotov’s misunderstanding of my message of October 24 [26?]³ relative to disposition of Italian naval ships and merchant ships. I meant to convey that I was in favor of the request of the Russian Government for the use of these ships. The only proviso I made was that the Italian ships which were turned over to our respective countries would be used to prosecute the war against our enemies and that final determination of what would become of these ships would be made at the peace conference.

Roosevelt

1. Sent to the United States Naval Attaché, Moscow, via Navy channels. A memorandum of October 30, 1943, from the White House Map Room informed Roosevelt, who was at Hyde Park, that this message had been prepared by Hopkins, approved by Leahy, and dispatched.
2. Hull’s telegram of October 30, 1943, ante, p. 127.
3. Ante, p. 120.