740.00119 Control (Rumania)/11–2944: Telegram
The American Representative in Rumania (Berry) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 18—5:40 p.m.]
36. See my telegram No. 35 of November 28, 6 p.m.69 The difficulties encountered in negotiations between Vishinsky, Deputy Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR, and the representatives of [Page 269] the Rumanian Government have added materially in keeping the Rumanian political pot boiling. Briefly summarized the negotiations developed in the following manner. Vishinsky in his first interview with the new head of the Rumanian Commission for application of the Armistice, Savel Radulescu, amid an atmosphere that Radulescu termed “threatening”, demanded that within 2 days Rumania accept 1938 as base year for determining reparations prices. Vishinsky presented a delivery schedule covering 6 years for commodities, livestock and machinery. Radulescu stated the Rumanian view that the indemnity timed by the Armistice meant payments at current world prices. He and other Rumanian officials claimed acceptance of Russian proposal meant increasing indemnity three-fold and that many requested quantity deliveries notably livestock were impossible to fulfill. Vishinsky’s reply was to refuse to discuss any pending questions until 1938 price principle was accepted.
The evening of November 24 Vishinsky was verbally informed of Rumanian acceptance of 1938 as price basis but of Rumanian reservations to sign a reparations schedule embodying quantity deliveries [considered?] impossible. A formal note was delivered on November 27.
Translations of Rumanian reparations price position, schedule of Soviet requested deliveries and the formal Rumanian reply follow by pouch.70
The Vishinsky talks are considered significant locally for (1) they by-passed the Allied Control Commission replacing it by direct Soviet-Rumanian negotiations and (2) they deepened Rumanian gloom and increased apprehension for the future because of the “method of negotiation[”] which Foreign Minister Visoianu described to me as [“]negotiation by ultimatum”.