795.00/6–353: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Bohlen) to the Department of State1
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1668. Eyes only for Secretary. Molotov asked me to call at 1 p.m., today and made the following oral statement to me (I listened to it in Russian and then checked it carefully as given in English by the interpreter and following is virtually verbatim):
“The Soviet Government has taken note of the information you gave to me on May 28, concerning the armistice talks at Panmunjom; as you know the outcome of these talks does not depend on us, but it has been noted with satisfaction that the path to the successful conclusion of these armistice talks has been mapped out.”
Molotov has made this statement with great care and had obviously learned it by heart but showed no disposition at all to elaborate and I did not consider it wise to question since presumably we will have the answer as to its full significance in the actual negotiations at Panmunjom. I merely expressed appreciation for his statement and told him I would report it immediately to my government and that if it meant an armistice in Korea it was good news to which observation he made no comment.
Would appreciate being kept currently informed by special message of Communist position at Panmunjom.
- Bohlen reproduced the gist of this message and gave the immediate background to the approach in his Witness to History, 1929–1969, pp. 349–351.↩