Foreign Relations of the United States, The Soviet Union, 1933–1939

760p.6111/49: Telegram

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

Moscow, October 6, 1939—3 p.m.
[Received October 6—10:50 a.m.³⁷]

690. My 687, October 5, 9 p.m. The text of the Soviet-Latvian Treaty of Mutual Assistance³⁸ published in today’s press is similar to that concluded with Estonia. The preamble states that the pact is based on the Soviet-Latvian Treaty of Peace of August 11, 1920 and that of Non-aggression and Peaceful Settlement of Conflicts of February 5, 1932. Articles 1 and 2 are identical with those of the Estonian treaty and provide for mutual assistance and the furnishing of arms by the Soviet Union to the Latvian Army on favorable terms. Article 3 gives the Soviet Union the right to maintain naval bases and airdromes in the ports Libau and Windau and likewise the right “for the defense of the Irben Sound”³⁹ to maintain a coast artillery base on the coast between Windau and Pitraga. As in the Estonian treaty the above-mentioned bases are to be acquired under lease, will remain Latvian property and the Soviet Union has the right to maintain a “strictly limited number of land and aviation forces.” Article 4 precludes either party from forming any alliance or taking any part in any attack directed against the other. Article 5 is somewhat more detailed than its counterpart in the Estonian treaty in that in addition to stating that the present treaty shall in no way affect the sovereign rights of the contracting parties of their state structures and economic systems it also provides that neither social systems or military institutions shall be affected. Article 6 specifies that the treaty shall be for a period of 10 years; failing denunciation 1 year before the expiration thereof the treaty is automatically continued for 10 years. The Estonian treaty provides for an automatic extension of only 5 years.

The communiqué published in connection with the announcement of the treaty states that as a result of the conversations held between Molotov and the Latvian Minister for Foreign Affairs at which Stalin and the Latvian Minister to Moscow were present both parties are unanimously of the opinion that the mutual trust which has been established during the many years of the existence of relations between the two states has been an essential factor in the successful conclusion of the present treaty. The communiqué continues:

“Having established as the basis for the pact of mutual assistance the immutable terms of the Treaty of Peace and the Treaty of Nonaggression both parties again affirm their unequivocal recognition of the sovereign rights of each state and the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of each other. Having convinced themselves on the basis of the experience of many years that the differences in state systems between the two countries do not constitute an obstacle to ‘fruitful cooperation’ each party has declared that under the new circumstances created by the pact of mutual assistance it will always be guided by respect for the state, social and economic structure of the other party thereby strengthening the bases for peaceful, good, neighbourly cooperation between their respective peoples.”⁴⁰

The press likewise reports a dinner given in honor of the Latvian Minister for Foreign Affairs attended by Stalin and leading Soviet officials and the departure of the Latvian Foreign Minister who was accorded military honors.

Latvia was more successful than Estonia in obtaining more specific and detailed obligations in respect of non-interference in the internal affairs of Latvia. It is probable that the greater emphasis placed on this aspect of the treaty was at German instigation, due to the presence of an important German minority in Latvia.

Steinhardt

37. Telegram in two sections.
38. A translation of the text of this treaty is printed in the Department of State, Bulletin, November 11, 1939, p. 542; or League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. cxcviii, p. 381.
39. The Straits of Irbe lie between Ösel island and the Latvian mainland.
40. The Minister in Latvia reported in his telegram No. 240, received on October 9, 1939, that the Latvian Foreign Minister described the communiqué as being a “sort of political supplement since it contains certain political principles which unable formulate with sufficient precision in pact itself” regarding mutual confidence and the possibilities of cooperation notwithstanding the difference of regimes in Latvia and the Soviet Union. (760p.6111/52)