Telegram from Ambassador Averell Harriman to President Harry S. Truman and Secretary of State James Byrnes

NLT-99 SECRET DISPATCH Copy / DRAFTER EXT. ADDRESSEES PRECEDENCE ASTERISK (*) MATLGRAM ADDRESSEE URGENT 1 FROM AMBASSADOR HARR I MAN PRIORITY 2 THE PRESIDENT 3 ROUTINE RELEASED BY TRUMAN THE SECRETARY OF STATE 4 DEFERRED ARCHIVES 'NATIONAL AND 5 DATE 3 JULY 1945 BASEGRAM 6 is SERVICE" DICEASSI.I.I. is authority of 7 TOR CODEROOM 1354/3 8 PRIORITY 9 DECODED BY CONNORS Vol. VII 1910 10 ROUTINE PARAPHRASED CHECKED 11 BY CONNORS BY BALDWIN litials He DEFERRED 12 CONNORS DI BASEGRAM 13 ROUTED BY BY 14 UNLESS TH13 DISPATCH WILL BE TRANSMITTED WITH DEFFRRED PRECEDENCE AND AS AOMINISTRATIVE. IF OPERATIONAL 15 PAGE 1 OF 3 CHECK BELOW 031200 NCR 1345 16 17 18 Originator till in DATE AND TIME GROUP (Use G. C. T. 19 ON OUTGOING DISPATCHES PLEASE LEAVE ABOUT ONE INCH CLEAR SPACE BEFORE BEGINNING TEXT 20 21 PERSONAL AND TOPSECRET FOR THE PRESIDENT AND THE SECRETARY DF 22 STATE FROM HARRIMAN. 23 24 25 AT SOONG'S REQUEST I CALLED ON NIM THIS MORNING. HE GAVE ME TO 26 READ THE DETAILED NOTES IN ENGL ISH OF HIS SECOND TALK WITH STALIN 27 28 29 WHICH TOOK PLACE LAST NIGHT, MOLOTOV, LOZOVSKY, COMMISSAR OF 30 FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AND PETROV WERE PRESENT. 31 32 SOONG IS MOST DISTURBED BY STALIN'S INSISTENCE THAT THE IMTERPRETATION OF "STATUS QUO IN OUTER MONGOLI IA SHALL BE PRESERVED" MEANS THAT THE 34 35 CHINESE GOVERNMENT SHOULD RECOGNIZE THE INDEPENDENCE OF OUTER 36 37 MONGOLIA. SOONG ARGUED THAT THIS SHOULD BE INTERPRETED TO MEAN THAT 38 39 CHINA WOULD NOT RAISE THE ISSUE AT THE PRESENT TIME BUT WOULD 40 ALLOW THE SITUATION THAT PRESENTLY EXISTS TO CONTINUE. HE TOLD 41 42 STALIN THAT CHINA COULD NOT AGREE TO THE CESSJON OF TERRITORY, 43 THAT IT WOULD COMPLICATE THE QUESTION OF TIBET, AND THAT NO 44 45 GOVERNMENT OF CHINA COULD LAST IF IT CEDED OUTER MONGOLIA. HE 46 EXPLAINED TO ME THAT IT WAS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE DEEP IN CHINESE 47 48 49 No. I ADMIRAL. No. 2 FILE. No. 3F- I OR CHARTROOM. No. 4 SPECIAL. 50 51 TOP SECRET 52 Handle only in accordance with "Top Secret " instructions contained in Article 76, Navy Regulations COPY NO. OPNAV 19-78