865.01/2252: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 27—12:20 p.m.]
1050. Department’s 602, March 16, midnight; Embassy’s 923, March 19, 10 p.m.16 I have received the following letter dated March 25 from Molotov:
“In its memorandum transmitted to the American Government in Washington prior to the receipt of your letter on March 18, the Soviet [Page 1079] Government set forth the motives for its decision to establish direct relations with the Badoglio government. In view of this, there is no need to return to this question at the present time.
I consider it first of all necessary to remark with respect to the questions touched upon in your letter, that there is no basis to accede to such an interpretation of the rights and authorities of the Supreme Command in the liberated territories of Italy, the meaning of which would result in a denial, unacceptable for the Soviet Union, of the right of an Allied Government to establish immediate relations with the Italian Government without the sanction of the Supreme Command. There is no basis, moreover, to agree that the establishment of direct relations between the Italian and Soviet Governments is capable in any degree whatsoever of being in contraction [contradiction?] to the undertakings which assure military safety since such a contact can only be profitable for the common cause of the Allies in Italy. Furthermore, direct contact between the Soviet and Italian Governments cannot entail the consequences mentioned in your letter, as the establishment of such a contact has no relation either to the conduct of military operations in Italy or to the fulfillment of the armistice terms, that is, to the questions concerning the authority of the Allied Control Commission or to the authority of the Supreme Command of the Anglo-American armed forces in Italy. With respect to the proposal of the United States Government that the question of the establishment of relations between the Soviet and Italian Governments be referred to the examination of the Advisory Council, I must call attention to the fact that the examination of such a question does not come under the authority of the Advisory Council. There would be no objection from the Soviet side, however, to the study of this question through regular diplomatic channels if this is considered desirable by the United States Government.
With regard to the question to the effect that the decision of the Soviet Government to establish direct relations and to exchange representatives with the Italian Government was taken not only without consultation but also without advance notification to the United States Government, in actual fact, such a notification was, as you know, made through the Soviet representative on the Advisory Council for Italy on the direct instructions of the Soviet Government”.
Sent to the Department; repeated to Algiers and London.
- Latter not printed.↩