740.00119 EW/5–346
President Truman to the Yugoslav Prime Minister ( Tito )59
My Dear Marshal Tito: I have pleasure in acknowledging the receipt of your note of February 19, 1946, which Ambassador Patterson delivered to me upon his return to Washington. Speaking for myself and on behalf of the people and Government of the United States, I wish to reciprocate your friendly greetings and to convey to you my appreciation of your kind expressions of gratitude.
The United States has followed with sympathetic interest the efforts of the valiant people of Yugoslavia to achieve the difficult transition from war to peace, and sincerely hopes that this transition may soon be completed with a minimum of additional hardships. It has been, and will continue to be, the desire of the United States, in accordance with the obligations it assumed at Yalta, to render all appropriate assistance to the Yugoslav people in their attainment of this objective.
I can assure you that the United States is, by the same token, desirous of seeing the question of Venezia Giulia solved in a manner consistent with the best interests of all the parties concerned.
I trust that the recent regularization of the formal relations between Yugoslavia and the United States will prove conducive to the early, mutually beneficial developments of those fruitful political and economic contacts between our two countries which I am sure we both desire to see.
Very sincerely yours,
[On May 20, 1946, the American and British Chargés in Belgrade presented virtually identical notes to the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry protesting against Yugoslav obstruction of Allied Military Government in Venezia Giulia. For text of the American note, see Department of State Bulletin, September 1, 1946, page 409.]
- This letter, which was prepared by the Department of State, was referred to President Truman on April 25, and was signed by him on May 3, 1946.↩