740.00119 EW/8–245
No. 977
The Soviet Foreign Commissar
(
Molotov
) to the Secretary of State
Esteemed Mr. Byrnes , I fully agree with you that the agreement regarding German reparations concluded at the Berlin Conference should be carried out as soon as possible. I also agree that the Inter-Allied Reparation Commission should work in close collaboration with the Allied Control Council in Berlin. With this in view it is incumbent upon it to establish its organization in Berlin. However the permanent seat of the Commission itself should naturally remain Moscow, as was decided at the Crimea Conference.1 So much the more, that, of all the Allied countries, the Inter-Allied Reparation Commission in all its activities will be most closely connected with the Soviet Union on the strength of the important decisions made at the Berlin Conference.
Sincerely yours