Office of the Historian

500C.115 28th Conference/29: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State

London, December 19, 1943—11 p.m.
[Received December 19—9:32 p.m.]

8835. For State and Labor from Goodrich. In private session this afternoon the Governing Body discussed the Russian question on an initiative from the workers group. After a full discussion which maintained a high level it was unanimously agreed to instruct the Chairman and the Acting Director to inform the Russian Government (1) that the Governing Body hoped that the Soviet Union would participate in the forthcoming conference as a member of the Organization and (2) that Russia would in that case be allotted the seat now vacant among the eight states of chief industrial importance. It was agreed that this decision should be kept secret.26

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Refer Department’s 7947, December 16.27 Message used and appreciated. Meeting of Joint Maritime Commission authorized. [Goodrich.]

Winant
  1. In telegram 12, January 3, 1944, 8 p.m., the Department informed Ambassador Harriman of this action by the Governing Body, also noting the fact that Mr. Goodrich had conveyed the information to the Soviet Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Gousev), who received it without comment (500C.115–28th Conference/43a).↩
  2. Not printed; it concerned a meeting, to be held in 1944, of the Joint Maritime Commission (5000.115 28th Conference/40a).↩