Office of the Historian

340.1115/2–147: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Smith) to the Secretary of State

secret
Moscow, February 1, 1947—10 a. m.

261. So far as Embassy can determine only legal basis on which it can operate in attempting to protect American citizens is exchange of letters dated November 16, 1933,2 between Litvinoff3 and Roosevelt. I would appreciate being advised at early date if any other legal grounds exist on which I could base representations to Soviet Foreign Office.4

Smith
  1. For the letters constituting this agreement, see Foreign Relations, The Soviet Union, 1933–1939, pp. 33–34.↩
  2. At this time Maxim Maximovich Litvinov was the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union.↩
  3. In reply the Department declared in telegram 192 to the Embassy in Moscow on February 7, 1 p.m., that protection of American citizens was based “also on recognized principles [of] international law governing right of state [to] protect nationals in foreign countries from injustice and discriminatory treatment.” (340.1115/2–147)↩