760F.61/7–2646: Telegram

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

top secret
urgent

2297. Masaryk visited me yesterday for a short confidential talk just before going to dinner which Stalin gave for Czek delegation.50 He said atmosphere of talks had been very cordial. Czeks raised question of repatriation of Hungarians now in Czechoslovakia, and Soviet Govt agreed to Czek proposals. Economic questions were discussed, primarily transfer of raw materials to Czechoslovakia in exchange for manufactured products. Hope to have details later. Masaryk said, however, textiles predominated. So far the cotton they had received from Soviet Union was of such relatively poor quality that they could not use it.

In reply to my direct question, he said that military subjects had not been discussed at length, but implied that Soviet Govt had raised question of military agreements. He stated definitely, however, that Soviet Govt had offered to give Czek Govt equipment for 10 divisions and that Czeks had accepted. I asked him if Czeks proposed to equip all of their forces with Soviet equipment or if, on the contrary, they intended to develop their own ordnance production. He replied that they did not intend to equip Czek Army exclusively with Soviet equipment, that they were buying aircraft from England and would build their own trucks and tractors. They did not, however, intend to redevelop an armaments industry as they considered that productive capacity required could be put to better use.

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Masaryk said that while it was inevitable that there would be close association and cooperation between Czechoslovakia and Soviet Union, the Czeks did not, as he put it, intend to “sell their souls”, nor did they intend to turn their backs on the West. He remarked that the Russians did not trust him. He had not yet been informed of the details of the Czek Prime Minister’s talk with Stalin, but would learn en route to Paris and would give me the information there, including more details on the above.

Dept repeat to Prague as Moscow’s 24.

Smith
  1. Between July 20 and July 25, 1946, a Czechoslovak Government delegation headed by Prime Minister Gottwald, Foreign Minister Masaryk, and Deputy Foreign Minister Clementis conferred in Moscow with Soviet officials on a wide variety of political, military, and economic topics.