Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1943, The British Commonwealth, Eastern Europe, the Far East, Volume III

760F.61/99

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)

[Washington,] June 28, 1943.

The British Ambassador called to see me this morning at his request.

Lord Halifax handed me the aide-mémoire attached herewith⁹¹ covering a recent conversation between Dr. Benes⁹² and Mr. Eden concerning the desire of Dr. Benes to negotiate a treaty with the Soviet Government when he visits Moscow in the immediate future and reporting that Dr. Benes had alleged that his desire in this regard received favorable reactions during the time of his recent visit to Washington.⁹³

Lord Halifax said that Mr. Eden was very much embarrassed by this development inasmuch as the British Government and the Soviet Government reached a definitive agreement during the time of Mr. Molotov’s visit to London last year⁹⁴ that neither Government would enter into any treaty with the smaller European countries covering post-war adjustments until after the conclusion of the war. Mr. Eden was very anxious to know whether the United States Government had in fact expressed any approval of Dr. Benes’ intentions as above indicated.

I called for the memoranda of my own conversations with Dr. Benes and confirmed from them my recollection that Dr. Benes never mentioned to me any desire on his part to enter into a treaty with the Soviet Union but merely the desire on his part to reach an “understanding” with Stalin concerning the position of Czechoslovakia in Europe and especially with regard to Eastern Europe in the postwar period. I said that I would try to find out whether anything different had been said by Dr. Benes to Secretary Hull or the President⁹⁵ and that I would inform the Ambassador accordingly.

Lord Halifax said that Mr. Eden thought it would be perfectly appropriate and in fact desirable if some joint declaration with regard to the position of Czechoslovakia could be announced during the time of Dr. Benes’ visit to Moscow but that this of course would be very different from the conclusion of a formal treaty.

[Here follows discussion concerning the possibility of Great Britain’s offering to the United States the use of additional British bases for postwar policing purposes.]

S[umner] W[elles]

91. Not printed.
92. Edward Beneš, President of the Czechoslovak National Committee in London, 1939–45.
93. This visit was between May 12 and 19, 1943.
94. For correspondence concerning the visit of Molotov to London and Washington during May and June 1942, see Foreign Relations, 1942, vol. iii, pp. 542–596, passim.

95. In a memorandum of August 24, 1943, prepared by an officer of the Division of European Affairs, it is stated that the Division made an examination of detailed memoranda by Secretary of State Hull, Under Secretary of State Welles, and Assistant Secretary of State Adolf A. Berle, Jr., of their conversations with Dr. Beneg. “They contained no reference whatever to any proposed treaty between the Soviet and Czechoslovak governments, though naturally much of the conversation concerned in one way or another the relations with the USSR.

    “The proposed treaty came to the attention of the officers of the European Division only through Viscount Halifax’s conversation with Mr. Welles and the subsequent developments. We believed at that time that such a treaty would be a step backward in our efforts toward international understanding … We have no reason to suppose that either the Secretary or Mr. Welles at any time have had any ‘favorable reactions’ to the project.” (760F.61/108)