123 Harriman, W. Averell/26: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Hamilton) to the Secretary of State
Moscow, September 30, 1943—4 p.m.
[Received 8:49 p.m.]
[Received 8:49 p.m.]
1502. Personal for the Secretary. Your 904, September 25, 3 p.m.98 Vyshinski called me to the Foreign Office this afternoon and asked me to inform the President that the appointment of Mr. Harriman as American Ambassador to the Soviet Union is acceptable to the Soviet Government, that the Soviet Government welcomes the appointment and that the Soviet Government will be glad to see Mr. Harriman as Ambassador.99
Hamilton
- Not printed; it advised that the President desired to know whether the appointment of W. Averell Harriman as American Ambassador to the Soviet Union would be acceptable to the Soviet Government (123 Standley, William H./194).↩
- The United States Senate confirmed the nomination of Mr. Harriman as Ambassador on October 7. On October 23, he presented his letters of credence to Kalinin and assumed charge of the Embassy. In a letter from London, July 5, to President Roosevelt, he had declared: “As you know, I am a confirmed optimist in our relations with Russia because of my conviction that Stalin wants, if obtainable, a firm understanding with you and America more than anything else—after the destruction of Hitler. He sees Russia’s reconstruction and security more soundly based on it than on any alternative. He is a man of simple purposes and, although he may use devious means in attempting to accomplish them, he does not deviate from his long run objectives.”↩