860H.01/942c: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador to the Yugoslav Government in Exile (MacVeagh), at Cairo
Yugos 30. The British Embassy has informed the Department that Tito was evacuated from Yugoslavia at his request because of a breakdown in his communications system. While at Bari he expressed readiness to meet Subasic, whose appointment he welcomed. In Vis, where he expects to remain for two or three weeks, Tito proposes to reestablish contact with the Partisans.
The British have decided that King Peter should remain in Malta, while Subasic and Stevenson proceed from there to Vis to open conversations with Tito with a view to achieving unification of all resistance forces in Yugoslavia. The British hope that later a friendly meeting may take place between the King and Tito and indicate that in any event the former may shortly proceed to Vis to take up his residence.
The Department at present has no direct communication with Subasic. The information summarized above, and the notification that the Government will be transferred to London, were received through the British Embassy.8 Ambassador Fotitch states that he has received notification of Ban Subasic’s appointment as Prime Minister, and of his, Fotitch’s, retirement with instructions to turn over the Embassy to Dr. Franges9 who would be Chargé, but no further information of any kind.
The Department questions whether the necessities of military secrecy should be held to cover the political transactions in view, but since the personalities involved are still in movement hi a war zone the Department is not inclined to raise this question for the moment, though it maintains its well-known position against political censorship.
[Page 1380]From the above, and with particular reference to your 119 of June 13,10 it is evident that delicacy and caution must be exercised with respect to the use of intelligence coming to us from British sources, particularly since the Yugoslav officials at Cairo and Washington are not being vouchsafed any information regarding the current political and military developments in their own Government.
Neither the Department nor the OSS has had detailed reports concerning the extent or success of the German operations preceding the escape of Tito.
- Prime Minister Subasić in a message transmitted as an enclosure to a note from the British Embassy on June 12, 1944, notified the Department that the seat of the Yugoslav Government was being transferred to London, and requested therefore that the American Embassy be moved from Cairo to London (860H.01/948).↩
- Ivan Franges, Yugoslav Counselor of Embassy in Washington.↩
- Not printed.↩