File No. 861.00/993
The Ambassador in France (Sharp) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 24, 9.58 a.m.]
3086. Department’s No. 3092, January 21.1 On seeing Mr. Pichon at the Foreign Office this afternoon, informally showing him copy of the telegram sent to the American Ambassor at Tokyo, he explained to me at considerable length the original attitude of the French Government toward sending a joint military expedition to Irkutsk. He said that what prompted his Government to send out the circular note to the Allied Governments was the killing of three French citizens at that place by Russians. He had felt that united action on the part of such powers as England, France, Japan, and the United States in sending such a military expedition would have a salutary effect. He informed me that the answer from the British Government was rather evasive and not at all encouraging while the reply he received from Japan was very clear and direct after stating that Government had asked to be allowed to meet the situation by sending its own war vessels exclusively without the cooperation of the other Governments. Mr. Pichon however expressed great respect for the views of the American Government as conveyed in its telegram to Tokyo. Under the circumstances I do not think that the French Government will press the matter further. Nevertheless he said that he had very little confidence in either the strength or the good faith of the Russian government as now constituted. I find that this feeling is quite prevalent in governmental circles. The French press has been for a long time very uncomplimentary in its reference to anything coming out of Petrograd or the conferences being held at Brest Litovsk. I learned to-day from inside and authoritative sources that French troops at the front not only decline to have any comradeship whatever with the Russian soldiers early sent over to the west front—none of whom are now put into the trenches—but that the commanding officers keep them apart from each other so that there will be no danger of hostile encounters between them.