874.00/11–1645: Telegram
The United States Representative in Bulgaria (Barnes) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 16—12:45 a.m.]
693. Re my 692, November 15,9 Department’s 373, November 14, just received. Both Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs departed this afternoon for provinces. Before departure Regent Ganev urged me to contact them and insist that they remain to receive any communication that US Government might wish to make to them, he believing that they were leaving to be absent until Monday10 in order to be able to excuse themselves, should there be an important communication from US Government, on grounds that they were absent and therefore could not act upon such a communication until after elections. I have just informed Under Secretary Minister for Foreign Affairs that if he does not contact Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs before 4 a.m. this morning and arrange for their immediate return to Sofia contents Department’s 373 will be announced publicly in Washington tomorrow as having been officially communicated to Bulgarian Government tonight. I shall report within next few hours whether Stainov and Georgiev are on their way back to Sofia.