Ottawa, February 27, 1942
CANADIAN REPRESENTATION IN THE U.S.S.R.
Under the Agreement concluded in London on February 5th between Canada and the U.S.S.R., provision was made for the exchange of consular representatives, the number and residence of which was to be decided by subsequent negotiations between the Canadian and Russian Governments.
2. On February 12th Mr. Massey advised that the Russian Government wished to open a Consulate General at Ottawa with a Consular Agency, subordinate to the main Consulate, at Halifax. Mr. Maisky requested a decision at the earliest possible moment as to whether such an arrangement would be agreeable to the Canadian Government: On February 13th a reply was sent indicating that the Canadian Government approved this arrangement.
3. The question of the precise nature of Canadian representation in the U.S.S.R., however, has not yet been solved. I think there is a great deal to be said for putting forward a suggestion that an exchange of ministers rather than of consuls should be considered. So far as Canada is concerned, our interest is fundamentally to obtain all possible information regarding the Russian conduct of the war and the nature of Russia’s views on reconstruction in the post-war period. Questions of present and post-war trade will be important, as will independent accounts of political conditions and developments within Russia itself.
For this reason it is important that Canadian representation in Russia should be on the same level as the representation of the United Kingdom, the United States and other Allied countries. Further, there is evidence that the general public would find it extremely difficult to understand why our representation in Russia should take the same form as our representation in Greenland and St. Pierre.
4. Conversely, there is every reason to believe that following the recent establishment of direct diplomatic relations with Poland, Norway and Yugoslavia, and the elevation to ministerial rank of the former Consuls General of these three countries, Russia, one of our strongest and most powerful Allies would welcome the opportunity of modifying the Agreement of February 5th in order to provide for a diplomatic rather than consular exchange.
5. There are, therefore, two possible courses of action:
(1) to raise the question of an exchange of ministers with Russia; and
(2) to leave the question of such an exchange for the moment and to proceed at once with the appointment of a Consul General.
N. A. R[OBERTSON]
