OFFICE OF STRATEGIC SERVICES
                                               WASHINGTON, D.C.
 
                        23 March 1944
 
General William J. Donovan
Director, Office of Strategic Services
Washington, D.C.
 
          The undersigned members of the Special Mission sent pursuant to your
instructions to the Middle and Near East last November for the purpose of establishing contact
with Bulgarian authorities to ascertain whether Bulgaria could be detached from the Axis and
brought to the side of the United Nations have the honor to report:
 
          (1) The Mission reached Istanbul on 1 December 1943 and shortly thereafter
opened communication with persons in Sofia with the result that the Bulgarian Prime Minister
telegraphed M. Balabanoff, Bulgarian Minister to Turkey, requesting him to get in touch with Mr.
Kouyoumdjisky. On 18 December, Mr. Kouyoumdijisky met M. Balabanoff in Ankara at the
latter's request. M. Balabanoff, who is a close friend of Mr. Kouyoumdjisky, spoke with him
frankly of Bulgaria's mistake in joining the Axis and asked if Mr. Kouyoumdjisky were in a
position to help Bulgaria. Mr. Kouyoumdjisky replied that he could not discuss that matter with
M. Balabanoff at that time, but that if qualified representatives of the Bulgarian Government
should be sent to Istanbul he would confer with them. He suggested that the Governor of the
Bulgarian National Bank, M. Gouneff, and General Popoff  (both close friends of Mr.
Kouvoumdjisky's) might advantageously be the persons chosen.   M. Balabanoff said he would
telegraph and recommend such action to Sofia.
 
                   (2) No reply having been received from M. Balabanoff, the Mission made a second
direct approach to Sofia toward the end of December. This time sending word to the Opposition
Leaders, M. Mouchanoff and Bouroff (both likewise good friends of Mr. Kouyoumdjisky's).
These men sent