840.48 Refugees/4781: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 19—11:35 a.m.]
8080. Foreign Office states that British Ambassador in Moscow reports that Soviet Government has accepted the proposed declaration to neutrals (Department’s 6897, 3d94) as modified by Department’s suggestion. Foreign Office now favors approach to other Allied nations. Department’s instructions therefore requested. Urgent letter from Randall, Counselor of Foreign Office, dated November 18 follows:
“I was on the point of replying to your letter of the 4th November and Coville’s of the 12th about the draft declaration to neutrals when a telegram arrived from our Ambassador in Moscow saying that the People’s Commissariat accepted the declaration together with the omission proposed by the State Department (see Coville’s letter of the 21st October) of the word ‘now’ in the concluding sentence of the second paragraph.
The next step seems to be to carry the other Allied Nations with us so that we can publish an Allied Nation’s declaration. I would therefore suggest that our respective representatives to those Governments should concert a joint approach here and (for the Greeks and Yugoslavs) in Cairo. We should therefore be grateful if you would let us know whether the State Department agree so that we may take action as soon as possible.”