761.71/288: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Thurston) to the Secretary of State
[Received 7:05 p.m.]
1162. Reference Embassy’s 1163, 14th which follows this.13 The publication of this somewhat curious denial is apparently motivated by desire to refute any accusations concerning Soviet intentions in regard to Rumania while at the same time indirectly through the reference to the “unbearable situation” of the Rumanian delegation to imply that a Soviet protectorate would have been in conformity with the desire of the Rumanian Government but that German-Italian pressure prevented this from being made known.
The communiqué significantly makes no mention of the Rumanian note delivered yesterday (see Embassy’s 1161, September 13, 7 p.m.14) disclaiming responsibility for the alleged incidents on the Soviet-Rumanian frontier which may indicate that the Soviet Government intends to ignore this note without however dropping the question of the incident.
Repeated to Berlin and Bucharest.
- Not printed; in this telegram the Chargé reported a Tass communiqué which denied as “an obvious fabrication” the report in the German newspaper, National Zeitung, taken from the Rumanian newspaper, Bunavestire, “alleging that the Rumanian Minister in Moscow, Gafencu, during the negotiations concerning the Vienna arbitration advanced proposals of the creation of a Soviet protectorate over Rumania following which ‘the situation of the Rumanian delegation in Vienna became unbearable.’” (761.71/289)↩
- Not printed; but see telegram No. 1174, September 15, from the Chargé in the Soviet Union, p. 511.↩