Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1944, Europe, Volume IV

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) to President Roosevelt ⁴⁶

Moscow, 10 October 1944.

Personal for the President. Supplementing my 092352z⁴⁷ from my talk with the Prime Minister yesterday I believe that the British conversations here are likely to take the following course.

1. On the Dumbarton Oaks question the Prime Minister although he will of course follow the line outlined in my message yesterday will I believe give Stalin the impression that he is inclined toward the Russian viewpoint.

2. It is impossible to foresee what will result from the talks with Poland but Stalin’s agreement last night to allow Mikolajczyk to come to Moscow at once augurs well.⁴⁸

3. On matters in the Balkans, Churchill and Eden will try to work out some sort of spheres of influence with the Russians, the British to have a free hand in Greece and the Russians in Rumania and perhaps other countries. The British will attempt to retrieve a position of equal influence in Yugoslavia. They can probably succeed in the former but I am doubtful about the latter objective.⁴⁹

4. As to the Far East I am a little concerned that the Prime Minister’s talks with Stalin may minimize the importance of the conferences that have been agreed to between General Deane and the Red Army Staff. We now have a full agreement from Stalin not only to participate in the Pacific War but to enter the war with full effort. The important thing now therefore is to ascertain what are the Russians capabilities in the East. In this the limiting factors are of course the logistics about which we know so little. General talks are no longer needed and full discussions by General Deane are therefore the next essential step. The Prime Minister’s talks therefore with Stalin should emphasize the importance of the detailed Staff discussions. I will try to see that the Prime Minister’s conversations take this line. I have already General Ismay’s agreement.

5. The Prime Minister yesterday said little about Germany so I cannot report on this subject yet.

It would be helpful to have your reaction to any of the above for my guidance.

46. Copy of telegram obtained from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, N.Y. A paraphrase of this telegram is in the Department files under 741.6111/10–1144.
47. Supra.
48. For correspondence relating to the visit of Polish Prime Minister Stanislaw Mikolajczyk to Moscow at this time to discuss Polish problems, see vol. iii, pp. 1318–1328, passim.
49. In regard to the proposal to share wartime influence on the basis of proposed percentages in the Balkan countries, see vol. v, pp. 112–131, passim. See also The Memoirs of Cordell Hull, (New York, 1948), vol. ii, pp. 1451–1459, and Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War, vol. vi, Triumph and Tragedy, (Boston, 1953), pp. 72–81, 226–235. The substance of the arrangements, particularly concerning Yugoslavia, was given in Churchill’s speech of January 18, 1945, Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, 5th series, vol. 407, cols. 398–399.