103.9169/2856a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman)
599. From York,58 President’s Soviet Protocol Committee. Overall consideration of the following messages from Moscow determined our concept of your proposals: 128 January 4 to Agwar, 131 January 6 to Agwar,59 128 January 14 State Department60 from Deane to Crowley for Wesson,61 147 January 17 to Agwar.62
Clarification embodied in your 699 March 2 appreciated. It was intended in our 407, February 25 to indicate that when appropriate, we would request from your Mission specific information and recommendations on USSR supply requests. Your comments and recommendations, adverse or favorable, which are based upon your general knowledge of the Soviet situation will be appreciated and will carry weight in the determination of the extent to which we will meet Soviet requests. These objectives possible within framework our 407.
Without doubt there will be cases in which we shall advise the Soviet Purchasing Commission here that your recommendations have been requested and that decision cannot be made until your reply has been received. However, in order to protect your position with the Russians, and at the same time to make it possible to utilize fully your advice and recommendations, it is believed to be unwise to inform the Soviet Purchasing Commission here of all cases in which we have requested your views. We are hopeful that this procedure will effectively demonstrate to the Russians our reliance upon your Mission and that this will open up to you additional channels of information.
Your message indicates a feeling there that shipping limitations will soon become a less critical factor in aid to Russia. Although we are somewhat ahead of the minimum targets under the Third Protocol, we still have unshipped balances under the Second Protocol, [Page 1063] and we are losing ground due to difficulties of navigation in the Pacific and a rapidly developing scarcity of ships available for the USSR. In our view, shipping, rather than the availability of supplies, will for some time to come remain the limiting factor in our program of aid for the USSR.
Other matters to which you refer it is believed are being covered in messages from FEA and State Department. This cable approved by Stettinius and Crowley. [York.]
- Brig. Gen. John Y. York, Jr., Acting Executive of the President’s Soviet Protocol Committee.↩
- Sent to the War Department; neither found in Department files.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Maj. Gen. C. M. Wesson, Director, Division for Soviet Supply, Foreign Economic Administration.↩
- Sent to the War Department; not found in Department files.↩