Office of the Historian

840.70/2–1345: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)

Washington, February 13, 1945—6 p.m.

1103. In view of Crimean declaration,21 Department has informed British Embassy that it will be necessary to delay reply to Aide-Mémoire proposing interim European inland transport organization until it is possible to confer with those who attended conference. At Department’s request, British Embassy is inquiring of Foreign Office whether its views as to procedure are now modified.

For your confidential information, subject to conferring with Department personnel who attended conference, it is Department’s tentative view that EITO conference might be immediately reconvened without either the London or the Lublin Poles but with understanding that new Polish Government, when constituted, would be invited to accede to EITO. This procedure of course would require prior clearance [Page 1398] with Soviets. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Sent to London, repeated to Paris and Moscow.22

Grew
  1. See communiqué issued on February 12, 1945, at the end of the Yalta Conference, Foreign Relations, The Conferences at Malta and Yalta, p. 968, particularly the section on Poland, p. 973.↩
  2. As telegrams 569 and 316, respectively.↩