Office of the Historian

500.CC/8–444: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) to the Secretary of State

Moscow, August 4, 1944—midnight.
[Received August 5—6:35 a.m.]

2864. For the Secretary and Under Secretary. I was called over to the Foreign Office to see Vyshinski66 late this evening. He informed me that the Soviet Government requested that the conversations on international security organization be postponed one week until August 21. He explained that the Soviet Government would not have sufficient time by August 14 to study the American tentative proposals67 in order to instruct their delegation on the questions raised. The Embassy delivered the document referred to in Department’s 1797, July 27, 12 p.m.68 to the Foreign Office on August 2 upon its receipt and, as a member of the Embassy was consulted regarding the translation by the Foreign Office on the evening of the 3d it is likely that the Russian text was not available for examination until today August 4. Vyshinski said that they were very much interested in the document and asked me to explain to you that they needed time to study it and be in a position to give their delegates directives as to Soviet point of view.

I told Vyshinski that I would cable you at once but I knew his request for postponement would come as a disappointment. He then explained further that the subject was of such far reaching importance that the Soviet People’s Commissars needed time to formulate their views.

I argued that I understood the Soviet Government had previously indicated it was not necessary to exchange proposals, to which Vyshinski replied that that was correct but since they had received the American proposals it was necessary to give them real study.

It seems evident that Soviets expected more general conversations and were taken by surprise when they were faced with our comprehensive proposals.

Harriman
  1. Andrei Yanuaryevich Vyshinsky, People’s Vice Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union.↩
  2. For text of July 18 draft of American tentative proposals for an international security organization, see p. 653.↩
  3. Not printed; it indicated that the tentative proposals had been transmitted to Moscow by courier (500.CC/7–2644).↩