860C.01/6–1545: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 15—10:38 a.m.]
2092. Polco. Re Schoenfeld’s Poles 67, June 14, to Dept. I cannot find words to express my concern at Mikolajczyk’s unwillingness to come to Moscow unless his conditions have been fulfilled. His conditions [Page 342] in themselves seem reasonable and some solution satisfactory to him should be possible after his arrival.
All of the other Poles are now in Moscow and the atmosphere that would be created by his refusal to come until his conditions are met would certainly impair his influence and in fact jeopardize the success of the consultations themselves. I urge that strong pressure be brought today in London by Winant and Schoenfeld to induce Mikolajczyk and Stanczyk to leave for Moscow tomorrow morning, Saturday, without fail. The Brit Ambassador is cabling the FonOff in the same sense. The Brit Ambassador and I will see Molotov this afternoon to discuss the possibility of making special arrangements which would permit Witos to come to Moscow, as well as the alternative suggestions made by Mikolajczyk. We are not, however, informing Molotov that Mikolajczyk is making his departure conditional on acceptance of one of his alternatives as we are satisfied that if we did so his influence in the consultations would be gravely impaired.
Stalin has stated that he objected to inviting Mikolajczyk again because of past experience with him. To use Stalin’s own words “he has missed the bus every time and will continue to do so”. The disclosure of his present position to the Russians would confirm their opinion of him as a man with whom they will find it very difficult to work. It is the Brit Ambassador’s and my strong opinion that the best hope of success in resolving the difficulties involved in the formation of a new govt is for Mikolajczyk to come to Moscow at once8 and deal with all of the complicated problems here in the atmosphere created by Hopkins’ talks with Marshal Stalin.
Sent Dept as 2092, rptd London for Winant and Schoenfeld as 282.
- For an account of the meeting between Prime Minister Churchill and Mikolajczyk on the evening of June 15 at which the Prime Minister convinced Mikolajczyk that he must proceed to Moscow for the consultations scheduled there, see Rozek, Allied Wartime Diplomacy, pp. 388–389.↩