Foreign Relations of the United States, 1949, Eastern Europe; The Soviet Union, Volume V

361.1115/12–1249: Telegram

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

confidential

Moscow, December 12, 1949—5 p. m.

3087. Department’s instruction 133, November 16, 1949,¹ and final paragraph Embtel 2953, November 28, 6 p. m.²

I called on Gromyko by appointment at 1:30 p. m. Moscow time today and left aide-mémoire on detention US citizens in Soviet Union.³ I stated document was self-explanatory, and that, as it was rather long, I did not feel it necessary to go into detail about it other than to say that it dealt with a subject the US regarded as of importance, i.e., namely the detention in Soviet Union of numbers of US citizens, many of whom were thereby being separated from their families in US. I stressed humanitarian significance, and pointed out many of these US citizens had come to be in Soviet Union as result of war and Soviet acquisition additional territory. Gromyko did not comment nor did he indicate when a reply might be expected (I did not, of course, indicate we would plan to deliver copy of aide-mémoire to Soviet Ambassador Washington in one month in event no reply received⁴).

[The remainder of this telegram listed such textual changes as had been made in the aide-mémoire which was actually delivered by Ambassador Kirk from the draft text which had been sent by the Department.]

Kirk

1. Not printed. In it the Department had transmitted its substitute draft aide-mémoire regarding the detention of United States citizens in the Soviet Union.
2. Not printed. Ambassador Kirk said he planned to seek a personal interview with Acting Foreign Minister Gromyko during the week of December 5 to present the aide-mémoire.
3. A memorandum by the chief of the Division of Eastern European Affairs, G. Frederick Bernhardt, dated October 28, had characterized this aide-mémoire as being “the strongest and most inclusive note we have presented on the subject since the war.” (361.1115/10–2849)
4. A copy of this aide-mémoire was given to Ambassador Panyushkin on January 18, 1950, with a request that he would try to expedite a reply. See Department of State Bulletin, March 3, 1950, p. 443. The text of the aide-mémoire of December 12, 1949 is printed here, pp. 434–440.