File No. 861.00/2555½
Memorandum of the Secretary of State on Siberian Policy after Conference with the President, August 20, 1918
This Government can not aid in equipping, transporting or maintaining any troops beyond the numbers agreed upon between the United States and Japan.
This Government is not in favor of proceeding west of Irkutsk in relieving the Czecho-Slovaks in western Siberia.
This Government favors the retirement of Czecho-Slovaks eastward from western Siberia as rapidly as safety will permit and the concentration of all troops in eastern Siberia where they should jointly operate against the hostile forces along the Amur River and about Lake Baikal.
This Government prefers to defer a consideration of the future movements of the Czecho-Slovaks whether eastward to France or westward to Russia until after eastern Siberia has been cleared of enemies.