740.00119 European War 1939/2471d: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador to the Yugoslav Government in Exile (MacVeagh), at Cairo
23 Yugos. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have expressed the opinion that this Government should give its full assent to the military provisions of the proposed terms as contained in your 84 April 8. The Department has meanwhile been apprised of Mr. Churchill’s60 request that article IV of the text be amended by the addition of the words “subject to confirmation at the peace settlement” and of his observation concerning article V as regards British and American representatives for political questions. Your 85 April 1161 reports that the Soviet Government has agreed to these changes.
You are now authorized to give the assent of this Government to the presentation to the Rumanians of the proposed terms as modified in consideration of Mr. Churchill’s views.
In conveying this assent you should inform Mr. Novikov that the Department would have preferred an amendment to article IV reading “deferring the definitive disposition of this territory to the general [Page 174] settlement” but since the British suggestion reflects the same general thought and has already been cleared by Moscow we do not wish to delay proceedings by prolonging discussion of the language employed. The British views with respect to article V happen to be identical with our own.
For your background information, our objection to article IV was on grounds of principle rather than an evaluation of the relative merits of the claims to Transylvania. While there would be no difficulty in disregarding the partition of this territory as imposed by the Vienna Award, we question whether any line that might be drawn while the war is in progress would afford a basis for the eventual stability of the region. It is our view that the particular problems of Transylvania could receive more thorough consideration as a part of the general European settlement.
The same considerations would apply in a measure to paragraph B of article II, and we should have preferred that a definitive settlement of the status of Bessarabia and Northern Bucovina be held over for later discussion. In view, however, of the frequent public reiteration of the Russian claims to these regions, which have some substantial foundation, the fact that the Russians are already in the territories, the supposition that the Rumanians themselves are largely reconciled to their loss, and the statement of the case as amounting in effect to a confirmation of “the agreement of 1940”, we must assume that the Russians would be unwilling to give any consideration whatever to a modification of this article.
This telegram is being repeated to Moscow for Mr. Harriman’s guidance in informing Mr. Molotov of the instructions sent to you.