871.00/4–2246: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Smith) to the Secretary of State
priority
[Received April 22—9:03 a.m.]
1281. Subject is our request that Soviet Government associate itself with us in approach to Rumanian Government about hitter’s failure to live up to assurances given on occasion of visit by Tri-partite Commission in January (Embassy’s 1275, April 2167). In transmitting this communication I have assumed that our purpose is to clear record with Russians prior to taking concrete measures to demonstrate to Rumanians that they cannot ignore with impunity assurances given to US. Now that we have taken this first step, I think we must by all means go ahead to take the concrete measures in question, which will presumably be a refusal to sign peace treaty with present regime in Rumania until such time as it shows readiness to implement its own assurances.
I wish to say that unless we are really prepared to carry through energetically on our own in the absence of prompt indication of Russian collaboration, I believe that approaches of this sort are apt to do more harm than good. Soviets feel they have made their objectives in Rumania amply clear to us and expect us to understand what those objectives are. In particular, they are well aware that these objectives are in direct conflict to our own and expect us to be equally aware of this. For us to send them communications implying existence of common purposes which we all know do not exist has tendency to confuse them and to suspect us of playing a devious game. I hope that in forthcoming talks in Paris it will be possible for us to get onto a franker and more straightforward basis with respect to these questions, a basis which will recognize squarely existing differences of concept and will not try to obscure them by formulae which can never have satisfactory practical application.