760N.61/66: Telegram

The Minister in Estonia (Wiley)97 to the Secretary of State

16. Lunched today with the Foreign Minister, Estonian Minister to Moscow who is now here, and two directors of the Foreign Office. [Page 359] They told Ambassador Steinhardt98 and me (1) that there had been no approach to Estonia for mediation of Finnish-Soviet conflict; (2) that recalling of the Soviet Ministers to the Baltic States for conference in Moscow was not considered dangerous. It probably had to do with innumerable technical questions which require solution (one Foreign Office official in an aside said “probably our loyalty studied, too”) and (3) that no political demands were being made by the Soviet Government. The Foreign Minister denied categorically that Lithuania had yielded in respect of admission of Red army families. Indeed, he said Latvia alone had weakened on this point. Foreign Minister stated that at present there was, on the whole, excellent collaboration between Baltic States.

My impression is that all three countries are standing fast on the limit of original concessions to Moscow and consider the moment opportune to make it clear that they will not yield further.

General Berkis, Latvian Commander-in-Chief, now here on official visit to General Laidoner.

Wiley
  1. John C. Wiley was Minister to both Estonia and Latvia, with residence in Riga.
  2. Laurence A. Steinhardt, American Ambassador to the Soviet Union.