732.61/3–1045

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Acting Secretary of State

Mr. Pedro Leão Velloso, Brazilian Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs, who is now visiting Washington as the guest of this Government, called on me today and said that some time ago the Soviet Ambassador in Mexico, the late Mr. Oumansky, had approached the Brazilian Embassy in Mexico with a view to the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Mr. Velloso said that his Government is now prepared to proceed with this matter and would like the arrangements to be made in Washington and, if possible, to have the State Department act as go-between. He therefore asked me if I would approach the Soviet Ambassador with a view to arranging a meeting between Mr. Gromyko and himself and Ambassador Martins2 at the State Department as early as possible next week because the Minister must leave Washington on Wednesday the 14th. I said to Mr. Velloso that this proposed procedure seemed to me a little unusual and might possibly set an undesirable precedent but that I would look into the matter and would let him know promptly of our reaction. The Brazilian Ambassador said that the procedure might be unusual but this was an unusual case, especially as Brazil had never actually broken relations with Russia but had merely withdrawn its diplomatic mission from St. Petersburg at the time of the revolution, and that this step would be merely a resumption of relations. I repeated that I would explore the matter.

Joseph C. Grew
  1. Carlos Martins, Brazilian Ambassador in the United States.