Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1943, The British Commonwealth, Eastern Europe, the Far East, Volume III

711.94114 Mail/7: Telegram

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

Washington, August 20, 1943—6 p.m.

726. Embassy’s 1065, August 12. Inform Soviet Foreign Office that ordinary postal correspondence of prisoners of war and civilian internees held by the United States and Japanese Governments has been exchanged since the outbreak of war by various routes including one established by the Universal Postal Union with the cooperation of the Soviet authorities between Basel and Tokyo via Istanbul, Tiflis, and Siberia. Exchange of mail has been in accordance with Articles 36–41 of Geneva Convention of 1929⁹⁶ which United States and Japanese Governments have mutually agreed to apply to prisoners of war and civilian internees. United States Post Office approach to Soviet postal authorities is effort in accordance with Convention to establish more reliable and expeditious route for such mail and is not to be confused with efforts to establish route for bulk relief shipments to Far East.

Repeat request for urgent consideration.⁹⁷

Welles

96. Foreign Relations, 1929, vol. i, pp. 336, 345–346.
97. The substance of this telegram was communicated to the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs by the Embassy in the Soviet Union in a note of August 23 (711.94114 Mail/25).