Memorandum from Acting Secretary of State Joseph Grew to President Harry S. Truman, Current Foreign Developments

IOI BECRET DECLASSIFIED E.O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and 5(D) or (E) Dept. of State letter, Aug. 10, 1972 By NLI-WL NARS Date 6.26.25 May 17, 1945 MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT Subject: Current Foreim Developments Border Develomments in Italy and Austria. As of 10 a.m. Thursday no reply had been received from Tito on the US-UK demerche over Venezia Giulia. The Italian radio report that Yugoslav troopa are leaving Trieste is appar- ently untrue but according to London reports Tito has or- dered his troops west of the Isonzo River to withdraw east of the Isonzo. While this would stop the further infiltra- tion of Yugoslavs into Italy, it by no means meets our de- monds. Noither does Belgrade redio's quoting of Communist Vice Premier Kardelj 8.8 saying that Yugoslav desire for Venezia Giulia was its "last territorial demend". It is not; the Yugoslavs are already demanding part of Austria and hint demands elsewhere. And the very phrese "last ARCHIVES AN territorial demand is what Hitler used before Munich. : Tito has sent an unsatisfactory answer to the US-UK demarche to him on his troops trying to occupy parts of Austria and Carinthia already occupied by the British. Tito still wants Yucoslav troops to occupy part of Austria, whore our reports make it clear they are doing their best to disrupt the AMG already established. Tito did offer to let his troops in Austria come under SAC's orders "in the same way as certain Partisan troops have been placed under the command of Marshal Tolbukhin". The US and UK Ambassa- dors in Belgrade have been instructed to reject this counter proposal forthwith and repeat that we expect all Yugoslav forces to withdraw from Austria. How