861.24/12–346
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs (Clayton) to the Secretary of State
Our proposals to the Soviet Government for initiation of lend-lease settlement discussions remain unanswered. I bring this matter to your attention as you may wish to discuss it with the Soviet Foreign Minister48 while he is in this country.
On September 14, 1946 a note, copy of which is enclosed,49 was forwarded to the Soviet Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, Mr. Fedor T. Orekhov, proposing that discussions be initiated in Washington on or before October 15, 1946 for the purpose of reaching a final settlement of U.S.–U.S.S.R. lend-lease obligations. The proposal limited such discussions to topics covered by the Lend-Lease Agreement of June 11, 1942. This note contained separate reference to our note of March 18, 1946 which requested the purchase or return of all U.S. merchant vessels transferred under lend-lease and reiterated that the purchase of merchant vessels transferred under lend-lease is governed by U.S. statutes and those vessels not purchased must be returned. It also reiterated the United States request of July 26, 1946 for the return of three Navy icebreakers transferred under lend-lease.
Having no reply to the note of September 14, I called in the Soviet Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, Mr. Vavilov,50 on October 31 and in the course of conversation handed him an aide-mémoire which reviewed the note of September 14 and asked when a reply might be expected.
No reply has been received.
Original United States proposals for lend-lease settlement discussions were made in a note dated February 21, 1946. This was in the [Page 859] form of a reply to a memorandum of August 28, 1945 from Lieutenant General L. G. Rudenko, Chairman of the Government Purchasing Commission of the Soviet Union in the U.S.A., requesting an Export-Import Bank credit of one, billion dollars. The original proposals coupled the settlement of lend-lease obligations, claims of American nationals, assistance to peoples of liberated areas, freedom of navigation on international waterways, preliminary discussions of a treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation, a copyright convention, civil aviation and other economic matters to the question of the one billion dollar credit. Subsequent correspondence regarding the agenda of credit discussions resulted in a lack of agreement. The note of September 14 in effect departed from previous policy by proposing discussion of lend-lease matters independently of credit discussions.
Total lend-lease aid rendered to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics amounted to approximately $11 billion, the second largest amount rendered to any nation.* Reverse lend-lease aid was negligible amounting to about $3,000,000. Settlements have been effected with the United Kingdom, France, India, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, and Turkey. Negotiations are now in progress for settlements with the Netherlands, Norway, and the Union of South Africa. Soviet failure to indicate its intent to discuss the settlement of our second largest lend-lease account is not yet public knowledge. However, the press is aware of our attempts to initiate discussions and failure in this regard may cause considerable public comment in the near future. The use by the Soviet Government of U.S. merchant vessels without charge in competition with the U.S. merchant marine and the merchant marines of other countries which have purchased or returned U.S. vessels may require a public statement in the near future.
- Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov.↩
- See p. 854.↩
- Mikhail Sergeyevich Vavilov, First Secretary of Embassy of the Soviet Union.↩
- The amount shown represents aid rendered to V–J Day, September 1945. Disposition of most of the residual materials in the U.S.S.R. lend-lease “pipeline” ($244,000,000) was effected under an agreement dated October 15, 1945. [Footnote in the original.]↩