Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1940, The British Commonwealth, The Soviet Union, The Near East and Africa, Volume III

740.00111 European War 1939/565

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Chief of the Division of European Affairs (Henderson)

[Washington,] December 17, 1940.

Participants:	Mr. C. A. Oumansky, Soviet Ambassador;
	Mr. Sumner Welles, Under Secretary of State;
	Mr. Ray Atherton, Acting Chief, Division of European Affairs;
	Mr. Loy W. Henderson, Ass’t Chief, Division of European Affairs.

At the conclusion of discussions on various matters regarding Soviet-American relations which took place yesterday afternoon between the Under Secretary and the Soviet Ambassador,²⁶ the Soviet Ambassador stated that in his previous conversation²⁷ with Mr. Welles several questions had been raised with regard to the foreign policy of the Soviet Union. The Ambassador said that he was prepared to formulate his answers to those questions and expressed his certainty that these answers represented the point of view of his Government. The Ambassador’s statement was as follows:

“The Soviet Government stands on its position of a policy of peace and remains out of war. At the same time the Soviet Government endeavors to maintain normal political and economic relations with all Powers, including the belligerents. The character of the Soviet Union’s relations with China remains invariably good neighborly and is guided by the spirit of the Chinese-Soviet non-aggression pact of 1937.²⁸ The Near Eastern policy of the Soviet Union is determined by the principle of further improvement of economic and political relations with all Near-Eastern States.”

Mr. Welles replied that it was his understanding that during the previous conversation Mr. Oumansky had agreed with him that the policy of the United States towards China is similar to that of the Soviet Union. It is the present intention of the United States, Mr. Welles continued, to increase assistance to China in such manner as might be further possible. He added that he assumed that the Soviet Government had similar intentions. The Soviet Ambassador replied that in his opinion there could be no doubt that the intention of the Soviet Government to continue aid to China could be read into the statement which he had just made, in view of the wording of the nonaggression pact of 1937 between China and the Soviet Union.

Mr. Welles stated that the statement which had just been made was of the utmost importance and was most gratifying to the Government of the United States.²⁹

26. See the memorandum of December 16 by the Assistant Chief of the Division of European Affairs, p. 419.
27. See the memoranda by the Under Secretary of State of November 27, supra and p. 413.
28. Signed at Nanking on August 21, 1937, League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. clxxxi, p. 101.
29. Notations by both Mr. Atherton, Acting Chief of the Division of European Affairs, and Mr. Henderson, Assistant Chief of the Division, state that this text was edited by the Soviet Ambassador on December 18, 1940. The substance of this memorandum, and the complete statement made by Ambassador Umansky, were sent to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union in telegram No. 883, December 18, 6 p.m., not printed. For a summation by Ambassador Steinhardt of the apparent readiness of the Soviet Union to conclude a political agreement with Japan, although on its own terms, see his telegram No. 1788, December 27, 6 p.m., vol. i, p. 680.