740.00119 P.W./7–1746
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Japanese and Korean Economic Affairs (Martin) to the Secretary of the State–War–Navy Coordinating Committee (Moseley)
Mr. Galbraith has left with me your memo of July 17,7 asking that the SWNCC Secretariat be informed when SWNCC 3108 had been implemented by State Department.
On September 5 the State Department was informed by Admiral Ramishvili of the Soviet Embassy that the Soviet Government rejected in essence the proposal in SWNCC 310.
In a radio dated September 23, the Secretary of State approved an oral reply to the Soviet Embassy stating that the U.S. is unwilling to negotiate the matter further bilaterally and will press the Fat Eastern Commission to set up at once a Reparations Conference. If the Soviets veto that proposal the U.S. will proceed to call an interallied conference outside of the FEC to reach necessary policy decisions on reparations. Whichever conference is convened the issues involved in the proposal contained in SWNCC 310 will be made a matter for discussion and policy decision. The Soviet Embassy will not be informed whether the U.S. Government will continue to adhere to the proposals in 310 or will support its previous position which requires the accounting of all Japanese external assets, broadly defined, and no accounting for war booty, narrowly defined, in settlement.9
- See footnote 70, p. 546.↩
- Ante, p. 546.↩
- In a memorandum to the Department on October 8, Mr. Moseley commented: “It appears that no further action heed be taken on this paper at this time and that the whole problem will be handled through the U.S. Member on the FEC in consultation with Departmental advisers along the line set forth in the third paragraph of Mr. Martin’s memorandum.” (740.00119 P.W./7–1746)↩