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The Chargé in Lithuania (Gufler) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 20.]
Sir: I have the honor to report that the Latvian Minister86 informed me yesterday that the Baltic States were very anxious not to be mentioned as guaranteed states in agreements between groups of other powers and that they were, therefore, not pleased by the suggestion made recently by the Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs87 to the effect that Great Britain guarantee the boundaries of those states on the Baltic bordering on the Soviet Union. He remarked that his country and Estonia preferred not to be mentioned by name in any agreements between great powers of either group in such a way as to imply that they were associated or might become associated with the group mentioning them. In reply to questions as to where they stand and what action they propose to take in the event war breaks out, they have always answered that they are neutral and intend to [Page 936] remain so and that they will defend their neutrality by force of arms against any power that seeks to violate it. He went on to say that he hoped, with good expectation that his hopes would be fulfilled, that the Western Powers and the Soviet Union would arrive at some formula covering the situation in Eastern Europe without mentioning by name any of the states in this region. He added that Estonia and Latvia were happy to have non-aggression pacts with both Germany88 and the Soviet Union89 and would also be very pleased to have the sort of guaranty from the Western Powers that Lithuania already had in the British-Polish Agreement.90
He was of the opinion that an implied guaranty of this kind was the finest sort of guaranty that the small countries in this part of the world could have. The Poles must, he said, regard an attack by Germany on Lithuania as a move to encircle Poland, and, since under the agreement with Great Britain, Poland has the right to determine when Polish independence is threatened, the British guaranty is almost certain to be brought into operation by a German attack on Lithuania. He went on to say that instead of being left out of consideration and at the mercy of Germany by not being mentioned by the Soviet Foreign Commissar, Lithuania might be considered as already having all that it could wish in the way of guaranties.
In reply to a question as to whether that was the official Lithuanian opinion, he answered, “Oh, if you were to ask directly, the Lithuanians might not say so or might evade answering the question, but I know very well how they feel”.
Some days previously the Estonian Minister91 told me with an air of satisfaction that Latvia and Lithuania have now been forced by the logic of events to see that the policy of absolute neutrality long advocated by Estonia was the only possible one for the Baltic States. In his opinion great care must be taken by all of the smaller states in the Baltic region to avoid any appearance of association with either of the groups of Great Powers against the other. Not only is this policy of neutrality dictated by prudence because of the present delicate state of affairs but on a long term basis it suits the real long term [Page 937] interests of the Baltic States. It would, he said, be very dangerous to the continued independence of Estonia should either Russia or Germany collapse. Estonia needs a strong Russia and a strong Germany and has no desire to aid either to overcome the other. He expressed satisfaction that Estonia already had a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union and would shortly have one with Germany.
Respectfully yours,
- Ludvigs Seja.↩
- Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, since May 3, 1939.↩
- Treaty with Estonia signed June 7, 1939; for text, see German Foreign Office, Documents on the Events Preceding the Outbreak of the War (New York, 1940), No. 346, p. 367. Treaty with Latvia signed June 7, 1939; for text, see ibid., No. 347, p. 368.↩
- Treaty with Estonia signed May 4, 1932; for text, see League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. cxxxi, p. 297. Treaty with Latvia signed February 5, 1932; for text, see ibid., vol. cxlviii, p, 113.↩
- The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, made a statement on March 31, 1939, in the House of Commons in which he announced the assurance of British and French support to Poland “in the event of any action which clearly threatened Polish independence, and which the Polish Government accordingly considered it vital to resist.” The permanent agreement of mutual assistance between the United Kingdom and Poland was signed at London on August 25, 1939, British Cmd. 6106, Misc. No. 9 (1939), pp. 36–37.↩
- Aleksander Warma ↩