761.93/123
The Russian Chargé (Ughet) to the Acting Secretary of
State
Washington, March 21,
1919.
My Dear Mr. Polk: I have the honor to
enclose herewith a memorandum relative to certain acts of the
Chinese Government prejudicial to Russian interests and it seems of
great importance to Russia that some action be taken by the Allied
and Associated powers to call to the attention of the Chinese
Government the inadmissibility of one-sided violation of the
existing treaties with Russia. The principles set forth in this
memorandum have been submitted to the Governments of France, Great
Britain and Japan.
I avail myself [etc.]
[Page 755]
[Enclosure]
The Russian
Embassy to the Departments of
State
Memorandum
There has recently been exposed certain intentions on the part of
China to ignore and violate some of the existing treaties with
Russia. This policy of the Chinese Government has for instance
revealed itself in the one-sided denunciation of the
Russian–Chinese agreement of 1916 concerning the manufacture and
sale of alcohol in the parts of Manchuria adjacent to Russia as
well as in the sending of troops into autonomous Mongolia
exceeding the number fixed by the Russian–Chinese–Mongolian
agreement of 1915.5
Moreover the friendly relations of the Chinese Diplomatic and
Consular officials with the Bolsheviki, as well as information
to the effect that the Chinese Legation in Petrograd transacted
negotiations with Voznesensky, representative of the Bolsheviki,
regarding the Chinese Railway, causes fear that the Chinese
Government may conclude agreements with the Bolsheviki annulling
the existing treaties between Russia and China.
Aiming to preserve the inviolability of all rights of Russia in
China arising from treaties and considering that such rights can
only be altered with the assent of the recognized Russian
Government, it is desired that the Allied powers call the
attention of China to the fact that treaties between Russia and
China concluded prior to the Bolshevik coup
d’état can not be one-sidedly annulled, or that the
Allies make a joint declaration in which China would
participate, stating that treaties concluded with the Bolsheviki
are null and void. Such action would in no way prejudice
alterations which might be effected in the existing treaties by
the Peace Conference and would only tend to strengthen the
rights emanating from treaties which would serve as bases for
further negotiations.
