Predictably, Russia balked. When Ambassador Averell Harriman presented Truman’s message to Molotov in Moscow, the Russian stalled, then later recalled Harriman and told him that the Soviets would agree to the settlement with the condition that they participate in the Allied High Command. Harriman had been briefed by Truman at Potsdam on just such an eventuality, and despite Molotov’s insistence, he refused to transmit such a proposal to Washington.
