740.00119 Council/9–546: Telegram
The American Delegation at the Paris Peace Conference to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received September 5—7:30 p.m.]
4446. Delsec 903. From Dunn.67 Mr. Kosanovic, the Yugoslav Ambassador to Washington, called on me this afternoon to say that he is leaving Paris on the afternoon of September 6 by TWA and that he appreciated the help given him by the Embassy in obtaining his passage. I asked him what position he expected to take when he arrived in Washington in respect to the questions which would be asked him with respect to what Yugoslavia would do in respect of the recent incidents. He said that he expected to explain that the action taken by Yugoslavia was the result of many provocations by flights over its territory and he also said that many high officials in the Yugoslav Government had been convinced that the United States Government has been conducting spying activities in Yugoslavia for many months. He said his Government had evidence of such activities by several persons of both American and Yugoslav nationality in connection with an espionage ring headed up by a man with a name something like Stanovich who was in the employ of the American Embassy in Belgrade. He said the persons his Government had arrested in this connection would be brought to trial shortly in Belgrade; that they had not only conducted espionage operations but had also been engaged in smuggling arms into Yugoslavia. He said that was one of the reasons why the extreme order to ground American planes was put into effect not very long ago.
I told the Ambassador that if the Yugoslav Government had matters of this kind which had come to its attention, it was their duty to take them up immediately with the American Government as no such activities were authorized nor would be permitted by any one connected with the United States Government. I further told the Ambassador that in my opinion there was no “explanation” which would justify the extreme action of his Government in ordering the shooting down of undefended civilian transport planes.
- Assistant Secretary of State Dunn served as a member of the American delegation to the Paris Peace Conference.↩