852.00/3491: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Henderson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 2:40 p.m.]
248. Reference my 236, October 9, 8 p.m.
1. The tenor of articles and editorials appearing during the last few days in the Soviet press give the distinct impression that the Soviet Government is preparing to denounce the international agreement not [Page 540] to furnish military equipment to Spain on the ground that Italy, Germany, and Portugal have been and are systematically violating it.
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8. Officials of the Foreign Office continue privately to point out that the denunciation of the agreement would not necessarily indicate that the Soviet Government would begin systematically to furnish military supplies to the Spanish Government. Most members of the Diplomatic Corps and the foreign journalists appear to be of the opinion that the Soviet Government does not intend to send military supplies to Spain. They feel that the present agitation is due to the desire of the Kremlin to convince the leaders of the world revolutionary movement abroad that the Soviet Union is still a supporter of that movement and at the same time to show the Governments of Western Europe which have been inclined in recent months to permit their foreign policies to follow the lines of least resistance that the Soviet Government can be just as aggressive and determined as the Governments of Italy and Germany when a matter of principle is involved. The Kremlin thus hopes to demonstrate to Great Britain and France that in the future Soviet demands must be given just as much consideration as those of Germany or Italy.
I am inclined to agree in general with the opinions above set forth. I feel, however, that there is a distinct possibility that the Soviet Government may as further evidence of its active sympathy for the world revolutionary movement send a limited amount of military equipment to Spain even though it realizes that it is not in a position to compete with Germany and Italy in the matter of furnishing such equipment.