760d.61/540a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in the Soviet Union (Thurston)90
257. The Chief of the Information Bureau of the Finnish Foreign Office has requested the American Legation in Helsinki to inform the Soviet Government in view of the lack of direct communication between Helsinki and Moscow that after a unanimous vote of confidence by the Diet the Finnish Government has resigned in order to make [Page 1009] way for a government with which the Soviet Government will negotiate.
He said that he had been authorized by Tanner, who we understand was Finance Minister of the outgoing government and a leader of the Social Democratic Party, to make this statement.
You are authorized to transmit this information immediately to the appropriate Soviet authorities.
This Government accepts no responsibility except for the transmission of this message.
- A note at the end of this telegram reads: “Approved by the Secretary, the President, Mr. Dunn and Mr. Moffat.” The Assistant Chief of the Division of European Affairs, Loy W. Henderson, wrote on the margin: “A draft of this telegram was dictated by telephone at 10:00 p.m., to the Soviet Ambassador who said he would also telegraph contents to his Gov[ernmen]t. At 10:30 a draft was dictated by telephone to Mr. Sterling at Stockholm who promised to try to relay it by telephone to Moscow.”↩