874.00/8–1046: Telegram

The United States Representative in Bulgaria (Barnes) to the Acting Secretary of State

secret

620. United States and United Kingdom representatives here, both political and military, have long felt peace treaty with Bulgaria should contain provision limiting militia as well as regular military establishments. Both have regretted that no such provision contained draft treaty. Announcement today of submission of bill to National Assembly Minister of Interior Yugov for “creation frontier militia and placing responsibility on Minister of Interior for safeguarding frontiers” seems to support fears we have all felt that military limitations of treaty will be circumvented from outset. Bill provides that “frontier militia shall be recruited from barracks.” Prime Minister has also submitted bill for “forced labor battalions” to be recruited from Bulgarians not required to perform military services. In my opinion it is already clear that Bulgaria has no intention of respecting any limitation of her military establishments that may be imposed by peace treaty. This govt is thoroughly unreliable in western sense and those of us who know govt from first hand contact have no illusions about its willingness to carry out any obligations not to its liking but which [Page 834] it must appear to accept in order to obtain peace with west and regularize its relations with western democracies. Repeated to Paris No. 159 for Delsec and to Moscow as No. 278.

Barnes