AIDE MEMOIRE
 
 
     Lord Halifax has told us that the President, after full
 
consideration of the suggestions which His Majesty's Government
 
have put forward for dealing with M. Stalin's demand for the
 
recognition of his1941 frontiers in Finland, the Baltic States
 
and Roumania, as a condition for signing an agreement for
 
co-operation with us in post-war problems, did not feel able
 
to approve either the acceptance of these demands or the two 
 
alternative proposals submitted to him. We understand that
 
the President felt that both of these alternative proposals
 
were difficuIt to reconcile with the Atlantic Charter and
 
that it was premature to attempt detailed treatment of the
 
problem.
 
         2. Lord Halifax has also told us that the President feels
 
confident of being able to reach agreement direct with M. Stalin 
 
and proposes to set about doing so, through M. Litvinov in the 
 
first instance, supporting his action later through Admiral 
 
Standley. We understand that the line the President might 
 
propose to take is that he entirely recognises the justice of 
 
M. Stalin's claim for security and that this can be met in a
 
variety of ways in regard to which it is difficult for the
 
moment to take a final decision.
 
      3. As Lord Halifax stated to Mr. Sumner Welles, when 
 
the latter informed him of the President's attitude, His
 
Majesty's Government would naturally feel nothing but
 
satisfaction if the President could in fact reach agreement
 
with M. Stalin. At the same time His Majesty's Government
 
feel that they should, in the light of their own experiences
 
in the Moscow talks and elsewhere, put before the United
 
States Government their own view of the problem and some
 
suggestions.....