891.00/11–2645: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 26—12:48 p.m.]
12346. Communication contained in Deptel 1020967 was delivered to Undersecretary Howe68 who said it would be given urgent consideration as requested. He observed, however, that fixing of January 1 as date for completion of withdrawal introduced new element in situation which would probably require reference to military authorities who conceivably might find it difficult to make practical arrangements for effecting withdrawal at such an early date. He assumed, however, the British would do their utmost to hasten withdrawal of their troops provided that Russians should consent to our proposal.
Howe said status of matter as far as British are concerned is that British Embassy in Moscow has been instructed to tell Russians that [Page 457] it is British view that under Anglo-Russian-Iranian treaty and Tehran declaration no restraint should be placed on the Iranian Govt’s maintaining order with its territory.69 Howe added, however, that British had been endeavoring to keep matter as much as possible on plane of direct negotiation between Iranians and Russians in effort to avoid charge that British were meddling unduly in Russian affairs.
Sent Department as 12346, repeated Tehran as 36.
- Dated November 23, p. 450.↩
- Robert G. Howe, Assistant Under Secretary of State in the British Foreign Office.↩
- The British Government released its note of November 25 to the Soviet Foreign Office on November 27; for text, see the Times (London) of November 28, 1945. The Soviet reply to the British note is printed in Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, 5th series, vol. 416, col. 2313. The date of the Soviet reply is not indicated.↩