The following is the text of a joint message from
President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill delivered personally
on Friday afternoon, August 15, by the British and American Ambassadors
to Josef Stalin, President of the Soviet of Peoples Commissars of the
U.S.S.R.:
We have taken the opportunity afforded by the consideration
of the report of Mr. Harry Hopkins on his return from Moscow to consult
together as to how best our two countries can help your country in the
splendid defense that you are making against the Nazi attack. We are
at the moment cooperating to provide you with the very maximum of supplies
that you most urgently need. Already many shiploads have left our shores
and more will leave in the immediate future.
We must now turn our minds to the consideration of
a more long term policy, since there is still a long and hard path to
be traversed before there can be won that complete victory without which
our efforts and sacrifices would be wasted.
The war goes on upon many fronts and before it is
over there may be further fighting fronts that will be developed. Our
resources though immense are limited, and it must become a question
as to where and when those resources can best be used to further the
greatest extent our common effort. This applies equally to manufactured
war supplies and to raw materials.
The needs and demands of your and our armed services
can only be determined in the light of the full knowledge of the many
factors which must be taken into consideration in the decisions that
we make. In order that all of us may be in a position to arrive at speedy
decisions as to the apportionment of our joint resources, we suggest
that we prepare for a meeting to be held at Moscow, to which we would
send high representatives who could discuss these matters directly with
you. If this conference appeals to you, we want you to know that pending
the decisions of that conference we shall continue to send supplies
and material as rapidly as possible.
We realize fully how vitally important to the defeat
of Hitlerism is the brave and steadfast resistance of the Soviet Union
and we feel therefore that we must not in any circumstances fail to
act quickly and immediately in this matter on planning the program for
the future allocation of our joint resources.
Signed: FRANKLIN
D. ROOSEVELT
Signed: WINSTON
S. CHURCHILL