661.1115/279: Telegram
The Soviet Representative in Esthonia (Litvinov) to the Congress of the United States and President Harding
Have the honor transmit as instructed by my government following message,
Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Republic to Esthonia
“March 20th.
From the first days of her existence Soviet Russia had nourished the hope of the possibility of a speedy establishment of friendly relations with the great Republic of North America and had firmly expected that intimate and solid ties would be created between the two republics to the greater advantage of both. At the time when the entente powers had begun their invasion of Soviet Russia unprovoked and without declaration of war the Soviet government repeatedly addressed itself to the American government with the proposal to adopt measures for the cessation of bloodshed. Even when the American troops together with the others participated in [Page 764] the attack upon Soviet Russia the government of the Russian republic still expressed the hope of a speedy change of America’s policy towards her and demonstrated this by its particularly considerate treatment of the Americans in Russia. But President Wilson who without cause and without any declaration of war had attacked the Russian republic showed during his whole administration a growing hostility towards the Russian republic. Soviet Russia hopes that the American republic will not persist in obdurately following this path and that the new American government will clearly see the great advantage for the two republics of the reestablishment of business relations and will consider the interests of both peoples which imperatively demand that the wall existing between them should be removed. The Soviet republic entirely absorbed in the work of internal reconstruction and of building up its economic life has not the intention of intervening in the internal affairs of America and the All Russian Central Executive Committee makes herewith a categorical declaration to this effect. At the present time after Soviet Russia has concluded treaties and established regular relations with numerous states the absence of such relations with America seems to Soviet Russia particularly abnormal and harmful to both peoples. The All Russian Central Executive Committee addresses to you the formal proposal of opening trade relations between Russia and America and for that purpose the relations between the two republics have to be on the whole regularised.
The All Russian Central Executive Committee, therefore, proposes to send a special delegation to America which will negotiate upon this matter with the American government in order to solve the question of business relations and of resumption of trade between Russia and America.
President of the All Russian Executive Committee, M. Kalinin; Secretary P. Zalutsky.”
- At the White House; copy transmitted to the Department Mar. 28.↩