800.796/6–2444
The Assistant Secretary of State (Berle) to the Counselor of the British Embassy (Wright)
My Dear Mr. Wright: I should appreciate it if you would be kind enough to transmit the enclosed to Lord Beaverbrook in answer to the message from him which you were good enough to transmit with your letter of June 24, 1944:
Glad to have your message and to know that aviation matters re going well for you in London.
The situation regarding conversations with the Soviet representatives is this:
The Soviet representatives are proceeding in a leisurely manner, taking time out between discussions to go over American airfields and American technical processes of control, licensing, signaling, and so forth. They are really combining the technical with the general conversations. My present guess is that in another two or three weeks these conversations should be concluded though I cannot guarantee this because the Russian group is controlled by instructions from Moscow. The Soviet group say they expect to be finished here by the latter part of July. They tell me they have no instructions as yet to proceed to London. Your proposed answer appears to be entirely in line with the facts.
Thus far, the Soviet representatives have said very little as to the attitude of their Government. I gather that they are, in principle, agreeable to the setting up of a world organization which shall have considerable competence in the technical fields covered in our conversations in London.
The Soviet Government appears, however, to be very clear in its determination not to yield what they consider sovereign powers, though our present impression is that they would accept a world organization with reporting and advisory functions in respect to economic and commercial matters. Though their representatives said very little here, an article appeared a week ago in War and the Working Class which the Foreign Office can undoubtedly give you, and which undoubtedly was stimulated by the conversations here. When you have that in front of you, you have all that is at present divulged about the attitude of the Soviet Government.
It is clear that the Soviets do expect to fly internationally; and that they want to have their ideas taken into consideration in connection with general air settlements. I think they intend to admit a limited number of foreign air lines into Soviet territory, granting use of their airfields for that purpose. They are wrestling with the subject of subsidized air lines, as is natural, since subsidy presents itself to Britain and the United States largely in connection with commercial operations, whereas to the Soviet state-owned operations this problem is entirely absent. The delegation in Washington has shown a very real and sympathetic desire to understand our point of view which as you know is in general agreement with the British point of view on the subject. They would likewise be interested in knowing whether there were disagreements between the British and United [Page 502] States Governments; and we have told them that the British point of view favored a far stronger world organization, with far wider authority than we would be prepared to accept. We have said that in other matters such as the definition of cabotage, the maintenance of equilibrium between available transportation and the traffic desiring to use it, and in the general desire to have freer passage rights than existed previously, we were generally in accord.
In accordance with our understanding that the result of conversations shall be available to all hands, I will keep you advised as matters develop, and the Soviet group understands this.
My personal impression is that before very long, probably in the latter part of July, conversations with the Soviets and others will reach a point at which it will be useful for British and American representatives to review the whole situation and consider the next steps to be taken.
Sincerely yours,