793.94 Conference/259: Telegram
The Chairman of the American Delegation (Davis) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 17—9:30 a.m.]
39. Potemkin,98 the Soviet delegate who called on me yesterday, said Litvinov had telephoned him to discuss with me what action would be recommended to the Conference on Monday next. He was very insistent in urging us to recommend concrete measures against Japan as his Government was convinced that nothing [else] would stop the conflict. He reiterated that Soviet Russia would join in anything the British and ourselves might be prepared to do; that she did not wish to act alone but if there is to be no common action and she is left to act alone she would not feel able to do more than continue to [Page 199] facilitate “in a discreet way” the shipments overland of arms and munitions to China.
I told him I doubted if any positive measures would be recommended now and that a decision [as to?] what is to be done will have to be made after further consultations upon the return of delegates at the end of the week. I also explained our general position and inability to make any commitments for common action.
- Vladimir Potemkin, Soviet Vice Commissar for Foreign Affairs.↩