Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, The Conferences at Cairo and Tehran, 1943

740.0011 EW 1939/31934: Telegram

The Ambassador in Turkey (Steinhardt) to the President, the Secretary of State, and the Under Secretary of State (Stettinius)¹

Ankara, November 14, 1943—7 p.m.

1871. Most secret for the President, the Secretary and the Under Secretary.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs told me last night the Russian Ambassador² had said that if, as he now understood from the British Ambassador, the Turkish Government’s concern about Russia’s intentions was prompted only [by] fear of excessive demands in the Balkans and not by a general mistrust or suspicion, he had little doubt a satisfactory solution could be found. Numan remarked that if the Turkish Government could be satisfied that the Russians did not harbor ambitions in the Balkans “we could resume the cordial and intimate friendship between the two countries which existed for so many years.”

Repeated to Moscow.

Steinhardt

1. A slightly abbreviated paraphrase of this telegram was sent by the White House Map Room to Greer on November 17, 1943, apparently via military channels, “to be held for delivery to the President upon arrival at Oran.” Roosevelt arrived at Oran on November 20.
2. Sergey Alexandrovich Vinogradov.