740.00119 EAC/111: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom ( Winant ) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 9—8:48 p.m.]
1939. Cornea 37. My 1268, February 15, 6 p.m., Cornea 28. With respect to the written inquiry which I addressed to my colleagues on February 11 asking whether they would be prepared to undertake at an early meeting of the Commission a discussion of proposals for terms of surrender to be imposed on Rumania, Strang29 replied affirmatively on February 16. No reply has been received from Gousev. Since Gousev’s position is that he can discuss no other matters until the question of the form of surrender document for Germany is decided, I have not pressed him for a reply on this point.
Meanwhile my military advisors have been shown a 27-article surrender instrument which the British post-hostilities committee has drafted for possible application to Rumania. I understand however that there is no immediate intention of presenting this to the Commission. The Foreign Office is reluctant to initiate discussion in the Commission on this subject, and would prefer that the initiative should come from the Russians. With this in mind, I am told, they have now instructed their mission at Moscow to take up informally with the Soviet Foreign Office the question of terms for Rumania (see my Cornea 3629a) and to say that while the British Government feels that this is a matter for the Advisory Commission, they would welcome it if the Soviet Government would itself make the initial proposal as to what the terms of surrender for Rumania should be.