740.00119 Control (Rumania)/9–345: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 3—10:45 a.m.]
3149. Following reply received from Molotov last night to note which I addressed to him August 23 on situation in Rumania.85
“In connection with your letter of August 23 relating to Rumania I am obliged to call attention to an inaccuracy contained in your letter, namely to the fact that you do not mention the events leading up to the submission by the Rumanian King to the American and British representatives of the messages which you speak of in your letter. According to the information at the disposal of the Soviet Government, the submission by the King of these messages was called forth by the statements which were made to the Rumanian King by the American and British representatives, insisting on the resignation of the Rumanian Government headed by Petre Groza and stating in [Page 604] that connection that their Governments would not conduct with the Groza government negotiations concerning the conclusion of a peace treaty. Taking into account the position adopted by the Governments of the United States and Great Britain with respect to the Rumanian Government headed by Petre Groza, the Rumanian King addressed to the representatives of the Soviet, American and British Governments in the Allied Control Commission in Rumania the letters of which you are aware.
As you apparently know on August 23 there was held at the initiative of General Susaikov a session of the Allied Control Commission at which General Susaikov called the attention of the American and British representatives in the Allied Control Commission to the incorrectness of their actions, consisting in the fact that without preliminary consideration of this question in the Allied Control Commission they had set out to bring about the resignation of the present Rumanian Government thereby violating the established order of work of the Allied Control Commission. It goes without saying that such actions cannot fail to have the most unfavorable effect on the further activity of the Allied Control Commission.
With respect to the proposal set forth in your letter of Aug 23 for consultation with the Govts of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Great Britain concerning the situation which has arisen in Rumania, I am obliged to state that the Soviet Govt see no serious grounds for this, for the following reasons:
- 1.
- Present Rumanian Govt headed by Petre Groza represents a democratic govt enjoying the confidence and support of wide circles of the Rumanian population. In essence the present Rumanian Govt is a govt of concentration of the democratic forces of the country;
- 2.
- The Rumanian Govt headed by Petre Groza is honestly and loyally carrying out the obligations which it incurred by the agreement concerning an armistice;
- 3.
- The Soviet Govt considers inadmissible in principle interference in the internal affairs of Rumania, which is a sovereign state.
Such is the position of the Soviet Govt in the given question. To this it should be added that the Rumanian King has officially stated to the Soviet Representative in Rumania that he has no complaints against the govt of Petre Groza.
If, however, the Govts of the United States and Great Britain insist on consultation with the Govt of the Soviet Union with relation to the situation in Rumania, the Soviet Govt expresses its readiness to enter into such consultation on condition that this consultation shall take place at some time after completion of the work of the coming session of the Council of Foreign Ministers in London.” End of message.
Sent to Department as 3149; repeated to London 432 and Bucharest 125.