Editorial Note

On August 23, in pursuance of instructions from the Acting Secretary of State, the Chargé in the Soviet Union, Elbridge Durbrow, delivered a note to the Soviet Foreign Ministry concerning the case of Nikola Petkov. The note stated that the United States Government could not accept the position taken by the Soviet Acting Chairman of the Allied Control Commission for Bulgaria in refusing to consult with the United States and British representatives in Bulgaria in order to reach concerted policies in regard to the case of Nikola Petkov. The [Page 174] note further requested that immediate consultations take place at a governmental level among the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union in order that they might reach concerted policies in regard to the matter in view of the obligations of the three governments under the Yalta Agreement. The British Embassy sent a similar note to the Soviet Foreign Ministry. In a reply delivered to the Embassy on August 25, Acting Soviet Foreign Minister Andrey Yanuaryevich Vyshinsky rejected the appraisal and the proposals contained in the Chargé’s note. For the text of Chargé Durbrow’s note of August 23 and for the substance of the Soviet reply of August 25, both released to the press on August 26, see Department of State Bulletin, September 7, 1947, pages 481–482.