800.51W89 U.S.S.R./105
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Eastern European Affairs (Kelley)
[Present:] | The Ambassador of the Soviet Union, Mr. Troyanovsky; |
The Secretary of State; | |
Mr. Moore; | |
Mr. Kelley. |
The Ambassador said he desired to inform the Secretary that he had just received a telegram from Moscow saying that he would receive a reply in a few days to the telegram which he sent following the conference of last Friday (August 10). He hoped that he then would be in a position to present the Department with a counterproposal.
There was a general discussion of the question of the settlement of debts and claims, in which the Secretary emphasized that the settlement of this problem was a test of the statesmanship of the two countries, and that he could see no reason for the matter dragging on nine months as it had. In response to the Ambassador’s inquiry whether it would not be possible for the Soviet Government to obtain longer credit terms than the five years indicated, the Secretary said that in view of present conditions and the attitude of public opinion with regard to the extension of loans and credits to foreign countries, [Page 135] it was very desirable to proceed slowly in this matter. He said that he had taken the same position in discussions with other countries. If the credit arrangement with the Soviet Government worked out satisfactorily, it might be possible later to consider longer credit terms, when public sentiment would be more favorable.58