874.00/8–945
The Secretary of State to the British Chargé (Balfour)
The Secretary of State presents his compliments to the British Chargé d’Affaires ad interim and, with reference to the latter’s note no. 381 of August 9, 194539 concerning conditions in Bulgaria and particularly the elections in that country scheduled for August 26, 1945, has the honor to confirm that, in accordance with his intention of which the Chargé d’Affaires has already been informed orally, the Secretary of State has now made public the views of the United States Government in this regard in a statement released on August 18, 1945 which reads as follows:
[Here follows text of statement quoted in telegram 260, August 18, to Sofia, printed on page 294.]
It will be observed that the foregoing does not make reference to the Bulgarian electoral law of which several provisions are regarded by the British Government as inconsistent with democratic principles. The United States Government prefers to base its attitude in this matter on the general situation existing in Bulgaria rather than to express specific disapproval of particular provisions of the electoral machinery established there.