861.24/3–345
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Acting Secretary of State
The Soviet Ambassador called this afternoon at my request and I handed him two memoranda26 marked “oral” as replies to the oral communication made to me by Mr. Novikov on February 20, and to the second communication handed to me by the Soviet Ambassador on February 27 relating to the Fourth Protocol.27 With regard to the second memorandum,28 the Ambassador said that it was important for his Government to be able to count in advance on a provision for $300,000,000 of industrial equipment to be made available after July 1, 1945 because even though the provision might be placed in the Fifth Protocol, this would be too late for arranging for the production of the desired equipment. In reply to that point, I said to the Ambassador that the President’s Soviet Protocol Committee would be prepared to consider the desirability of accepting requisitions in advance of the commencement of the Fifth Protocol when it has determined what the requirements of the protocol are and the extent to which this Government is prepared to meet them. The Ambassador said that he would refer the two documents to his Government.
- For the first of the memoranda, see infra. The Department summarized both in telegram 507, March 5, 1945, 8 p.m., to Moscow, not printed (861.24/2–2645).↩
- See Mr. Grew’s memorandum of February 27, p. 981.↩
- Not printed; it was based upon the information contained in the first paragraph of General York’s memorandum dated March 1, supra.↩