800.014/6–2045
No. 734
The Soviet Ambassador
(Gromyko) to the
Secretary of State
[Translation]
secret
[Babelsberg,] July 20,
1945.
Dear Mr. Secretary: I am sending you
herewith in accordance with your request expressed at the time
of our conversation this morning, a copy of my letter and the
letter of former Secretary of State Stettinius on the question of territorial
trusteeships. We exchanged these letters while at San Francisco
at the time of the United Nations Conference.
[Enclosure 1—Translation]
The Soviet Ambassador (Gromyko) to the
Former Secretary of State (Stettinius)
secret
Text of Letter From
Ambassador Gromyko Dated June 20, 1945, to Former Secretary of State Stettinius
On the 9th of June in the study of the American document on
trusteeship, I informed the member of the American
Delegation, Mr. Stassen, of the desire of my Government to
acquire under trusteeship some territory in conformity with
point 3, section b, of the said
document.1 Mr. Stassen replied that he had to consult his
Government on this question. The same day Mr. Stassen informed the
member of the Soviet Delegation, Mr. Novikov, that the American
Government was prepared to support the Soviet Government in
the turning over to it of trusteeship territories. At the
same time you, Mr. Secretary, in a conversation with me on
June 9th confirmed your agreement to satisfying the desire
expressed above of the Soviet Government.
In accordance with our agreement my Government has directed
me to define more clearly the question of trusteeship
territories for the U. S. S. R. I hope that you will agree
to discuss this question before the termination of the
present conference.
[Page 634]
[Enclosure 2]
The Former Secretary of State
(Stettinius) to the Soviet Ambassador (Gromyko)2
[San Francisco,]
June
23, 1945.
My Dear Mr. Ambassador: I have your
letter of June 20 in which you refer to the conversation
which took place between Commander Stassen and yourself on June 9
concerning the attitude held by the Soviet Government with
reference to territorial trusteeship and your desire that
our two Governments should be in accord on this matter.
Commander Stassen
promptly conveyed to me your point of view, stating that
your Government would like to be assured of the favorable
attitude of the United States if the Soviet Government, at
some future time, proposed a territory for trusteeship. He
added that you indicated that you had no specific territory
in mind but that you hoped that the two Governments could
agree in principle upon this question.
Commander Stassen
also reported that he was certain that your Government
understood that, in accordance with the Yalta agreement, no
specific territories were to be discussed at San Francisco
and that the method by which a trusteeship would arise would
be by the state which had the jurisdiction over a territory
making a proposal to the appropriate body of the
Organization.3
I told Commander
Stassen that I thought your point of view was
eminently reasonable and that we would be happy to support
in principle the Soviet proposal as to the eligibility of
your Government as a potential administering authority.
Your letter of June 20 carries the point raised to a further
stage beyond the principle agreed upon in the conversation.
In accordance with the Yalta agreement no specific
territories were to be discussed at the San Francisco
Conference but I shall, of course, be glad to know your
views on this subject, even though the matter falls outside
the scope of the Conference. It might be more convenient,
however, to both of us, to take this matter up after our
return to Washington.
With kind regards [etc.]
