740.00119 EAC/10–2244: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Kennan) to the Secretary of State
[Received 3:22 p.m.]
4037. I am not quite sure how to reconcile the last sentence of the second paragraph of the Department’s 2477, October 19, 12 p.m.22 with the first sentence of the last paragraph. In case Soviet Government desires that discussions should take place in Moscow, does the Department envisage that technical experts from our delegation on EAC would come here for this purpose, or would discussions take place on regular diplomatic level with the idea that recommendations and reports would subsequently be submitted to EAC for final clearance and for discussion with the other Allies?
In his letter of August 2823 to Molotov, Ambassador Harriman proposed as a first step toward the arrival at an interim arrangement, discussions on a technical level either through EAC or independently, to be followed by policy discussions in EAC. This letter has not yet been answered. In proposing the inauguration of discussions in early November, it should be made clear to the Russians whether it is the technical or the policy discussions, or both, that we have in mind.
Sent to Department as 4037, October 22, 2 p.m.; repeated to London as 232.