361.1121/17a: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Steinhardt)
863. On the first available occasion please stress to Lozovski the deep concern of your Government that steps apparently have not yet been taken by the Soviet authorities to enable those American citizens and spouses of American citizens, who have been the subject of your repeated representations, to return to the United States from the Soviet Union and Soviet-controlled territories. We have primarily in mind the Habicht, Magidoff, Wagshal, Devenis, Putkowsky and Cisiecki cases. You may wish to emphasize the recent measures taken by your Government on behalf of the Soviet Union (see telegram 850, June 28, 6 p.m.88) as well as the immediate action, based on recent Soviet requests, already taken by the American authorities to release for export to the Soviet Union merchandise upwards to the value of 7 million dollars and to state that in return your Government feels that the Soviet Government might at least go so far as to release from detention the American citizens and spouses now under arrest in the Soviet Union and to facilitate the departure of all the American citizens, spouses, and children from the Soviet Union as expeditiously as possible. You will, of course, point out that it is [Page 981] solely on the grounds of international courtesy and for humanitarian reasons that you are interceding on behalf of the Soviet spouses.89
In case Lozovski should bring up the Ovakimian case on his own initiative, you are authorized to state that, although you are unaware of the seriousness of the charges preferred against him, you would be willing strongly to recommend that your Government give consideration to the dropping of the prosecution on condition that all American citizens and all spouses of the American citizens in the Soviet Union be permitted to depart for the United States.
Although the Department itself has not as yet been informed of the seriousness of the charges against Ovakimian, we believe that we may be able to prevail upon the Department of Justice to drop the case on the grounds that it would be to the public interests of the United States in view of certain considerations of an international nature.