Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, Eastern Europe, The Soviet Union, Volume VI

871.00/11–546

The British Embassy to the Department of State

Aide-Mémoire

His Majesty’s Government are considering whether any action could usefully be taken in connection with the appeal by the three Opposition parties in Roumania which was addressed to the Governments of the United States, the U.S.S.R., and the United Kingdom on the subject of the Roumanian Government’s measures to prevent the holding of free elections in Roumania.³⁷

Recent experience in Bulgaria does not encourage the hope that any tripartite action will be possible. Nevertheless, His Majesty’s Government think that there would be advantage in attempting to secure consideration of the Roumanian electoral preparations by the Allied Control Commission as a measure of reinforcement to the Notes which were handed to the Roumanian Government on October 27th by the British and American representatives in Bucharest.

If the United States Government agree, it might be proposed to the Soviet Government that the memorandum from the three Opposition parties in Roumania should be considered by the Allied Control Commission in Roumania, who should be asked to make recommendations as to any action which should be taken, in the light of the situation revealed by that memorandum.

His Majesty’s Embassy is instructed to ask the State Department for the views of the United States Government on this suggestion.³⁸

Washington, 5 November, 1946.

37. The opposition memorandum under reference was described in telegram 1008, October 26, from Bucharest, p. 643.
38. In an aide-mémoire dated November 14 and handed to an officer of the British Embassy on the same day, the Department stated that it was prepared to accept the British suggestion that the memorandum of the Rumanian opposition parties be referred to the Allied Control Commission for Rumania with a request that the Commission be asked to recommend such action as may appear possible in the circumstances (871.00/11–546). On November 16, however, the British Embassy informed the Department that the British Government no longer contemplated action on the opposition memorandum in the Allied Control Commission.