500.CC/3–1245
The Department of State to the Soviet Embassy 45
Aide-Mémoire
The Government of the United States welcomes and fully shares the views of the Soviet Government with respect to the importance of Poland’s being represented at the San Francisco Conference and is happy to agree to the extension of an invitation for participation; therein to the new Polish Provisional Government of National Unity as soon as it is formed in accordance with the Crimean decisions. It is hoped, therefore, that the Commission composed of American, British, and Soviet members, which is now seeking, at Moscow to achieve the broad democratic basis for the government specified by the decisions of the Crimea Conference,46 may terminate successfully its deliberations in time for the government to be constituted and to send representatives to San Francisco.
While most careful consideration has been given to the opinion expressed by the Soviet Government in its Memoranda of March 9 and March 22 to the effect that if, in view of the complexity of the question, it is impossible to form in the near future the new government, representatives of the Provisional Polish Government now; functioning at Warsaw be invited to attend the Conference at San Francisco, the American Government finds itself unable to agree to the extension of such an invitation, since representation by the present Provisional Polish Government now functioning in Warsaw would not be in harmony with and might in fact conflict with the decisions of the Crimea Conference. Thus representation by Poland at San Francisco should in the opinion of the American Government be reserved for the Provisional Polish Government of National Unity agreed upon at Yalta rather than be accorded to one of the groups from which the new government is to be formed.
It is further the opinion of the American Government that the desire mutually shared by the American and Soviet Governments to have Poland represented at San Francisco should serve as an additional and potent reason for the Commission at Moscow to expedite its present deliberations. However, in the event that the formation of the new government can only be completed after the opening of the San Francisco Conference, the American Government is prepared to consider sending the new government an invitation while the conference is in session.
- The text of this aide-mémoire and texts of the two Soviet memoranda of March 9 (p. 113) and March 22 (p. 147) were transmitted to the Ambassador in. Moscow in Department’s instruction 549, April 20 (500.CC/4–2045).↩
- For documentation on this subject, see vol. v, pp. 361 ff.↩