Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1936, The Far East, Volume IV

894.00/565: Telegram

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

Moscow, February 25, 1936—6 p.m.
[Received February 25—3:56 p.m.]

64. In the course of a brief conversation today Litvinov¹⁵ expressed some surprise and great satisfaction at the results of the Japanese elections. He said that he believed the victory of the Minseito Party indicated that the sentiment of the Japanese people was clearly against the policy of military adventures and that he now expected a considerable improvement in Russian-Japanese relations and a cessation of provocative border incidents.

Dr. Yen, Chinese Ambassador, commenting on the Japanese elections said that while he was sure they would produce no fundamental change in Japan’s attitude toward China they might produce a more suave method of procedure.

Yen expects to leave Moscow for China about March 20th.

Bullitt

15. Maxim Litvinov, Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs.