761.62/554: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State

648. My telegram 643, September 28, 9 p.m.12 A Soviet-Estonian treaty of mutual assistance for 10 years was signed last night13 and appears to provide for what amounts to a Soviet military protectorate over Estonia in that the Soviet Union will be permitted to establish naval and air bases on the islands off the coast of Estonia. The trade treaty forming part of the agreement provides for a large increase in exchange of goods between the two countries and increased facilities for transit of Soviet goods through Estonian ports.

Steinhardt
  1. Not printed.
  2. A translation of the text of this treaty is printed in Department of State, Bulletin, November 11, 1939, p. 543; or League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. cxcviii, p. 223.