Office of the Historian

860h.01/2–2645: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador to the Yugoslav Government in Exile (Patterson), at London

Washington, February 26, 1945—6 p.m.

Yugos 27. By instruction of the Foreign Office the British Embassy has informed the Department that the Subasic-Tito negotiations appear to have reached a deadlock largely over the choice of the Regency Council. Mr. Eden had therefore sent messages to both Subasic and Tito.

To Subasic he expressed the anxiety of the British Government lest the whole agreement be endangered through Subasic’s holding out for Grol and Sutej, presumably because they would be acceptable to the King, and reminded him that the Crimea Conference communiqué made no reference to the King, and that the British intention was that while the names of the Regents should be submitted for the King’s approval, the agreement would nevertheless come into force if this approval was not forthcoming.

To Tito he expressed the British Government’s apprehension because of the disagreement on the Regency, stated that he was urging Subasic to come to an agreement on this point, and said that he earnestly hoped that Tito for his part would not jeopardize the agreement for which “we have all striven and to which we attach such importance”.

Through the British Embassies at Moscow and Washington Mr. Eden suggested that the Soviet and United States Governments also send messages to Subasic and Tito, and recommended in the case of Washington that the Yugoslav Embassy be used as a channel of communication.

In a separate telegram93 of lower security classification the Department is repeating to you the text of a message handed to the Yugoslav Chargé yesterday for transmission to both Subasic and Tito.

Sent to London; repeated to Moscow and Caserta.

Grew
  1. Supra.↩