Roosevelt Papers: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) to the President 1
[Received 15 December.]
Personal and Top Secret for the President from Harriman.
I talked with Marshal Stalin this evening about the proposed meeting and explained that you wished the meeting to take place somewhere in the Mediterranean. He said he knew that and had answered you that he could not go to the Mediterranean. He suggested Odessa where he was already having prepared suitable facilities ashore. He said if you preferred to go to the Crimea or the eastern part of the Black Sea where it was warmer anywhere down to Batum he would be agreeable. I explained the many reasons why you were insisting on the Mediterranean and the difficulties of the Black Sea emphasizing particularly that you wished to be on a naval vessel and not to fly. He said eventually that he would consult his doctors as to whether they would allow him to fly to the Mediterranean. He said that he would see me again in about a week to give me some info on certain military matters and I hope to have another chance to discuss the matter.
Stalin appeared well.
- Sent by the United States Naval Attaché, Moscow, via Navy channels.↩