500.CC/7–944
The Soviet Embassy to the Department of State
Aide-Mémoire
In connection with the question of creating an organization for the maintenance of peace and safety in the whole world, touched upon by the Secretary of State, Mr. Hull, in a talk with Soviet Ambassador A. A. Gromyko on May 30 and June 1, 194495 the Soviet Government considers it necessary to inform the Government of the United States about its readiness to take part in the negotiations in Washington on the said question, bearing in mind besides, as Mr. Hull suggested, the organization of double negotiations, i.e. negotiations of representatives of the United States and Great Britain separately with the representatives of the U.S.S.R. and China.
The Soviet Government agrees to start these negotiations without preliminary exchange between the Soviet, American and British Governments of documents on the questions of post-war safety. As regards the questions which are subject to discussion at the time of the negotiations, the Soviet Government considers it necessary to inform the Government of the United States that in the process of exchange of letters with the British Government on this subject through the British Ambassador to the U.S.S.R., Mr. Kerr, the British Government introduced a proposal to discuss during the forthcoming negotiations the following questions:
[Here follow items the same in substance as points A to E, inclusive, in aide-mémoire from the British Embassy, March 15, printed on page 633.]
The Soviet Government, however, would consider it expedient during the first phase of the negotiations to limit itself to discussion of questions of primary importance such as those which are stated in the cited above enumeration of British questions in the paragraphs “a”, “c”, and“e”. The Soviet Government has approached the British Government with a similar proposal.
As regards the date of the negotiations, the Soviet Government on its part would consider it possible to set the time for the negotiations for the beginning of August, 1944. In case the Government of the United States and the Government of Great Britain will have no objections to that date it will be possible to agree on an exact date of the beginning of the negotiations, to which date would be timed the return to Washington of Soviet Ambassador A. A. Gromyko, who is authorized by the Soviet Government to participate in the negotiations.