701.6111/1016
Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. Edward Page, Jr.,
of the Division of European Affairs
[Washington,] June 17, 1941.
In pursuance of instructions from Mr. Welles63
and Mr. Atherton,64 I requested Mr.
Chuvakhin,65 First Secretary of the Soviet Embassy,
[Page 623]
to call on me this afternoon.
I informed Mr. Chuvakhin that I had been instructed to return as
“unacceptable” to the Government of the United States, Mr. Oumansky’s
note of June 14, 1941 concerning the recall of the two Soviet Assistant
Military Attachés for Air. A photostatic copy of this note is attached
hereto. I added that if the Soviet Embassy desired to communicate with
the Department on this matter, the Department would accept a note from
it only if couched in the usual courteous terms of diplomatic
intercourse. Mr. Chuvakhin desired to be advised specifically of what
the Department found objectionable in the note. I stated that I was not
prepared to discuss the note in detail or to make any comments in this
regard other than to state that the general discourteous tenor of the
note was not conducive to the maintenance of friendly relations between
the American and the Soviet Governments. I added that I felt sure that
Mr. Oumansky on rereading the note, would realize the reasons for the
Department’s actions.
Mr. Chuvakhin was at first disinclined to accept the note but did so
reluctantly after a certain hesitation.
[Annex]
The Ambassador of the Soviet Union (Umansky) to the Secretary of State
Washington, June 14,
1941.
Sir: I have the honor to inform you that
in view of your note of June 10, 1941 by which you declared Colonel
Pavel Berezin and Major Constantine Ovchinnikov to be persona non grata to the Government of the
United States as Assistant Military Attachés for Air of the Embassy
of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics at Washington, my
Government has decided to recall these officers from the United
States. They will depart with their families from the United States
on June 27.
At the same time the Soviet Government must reject as lacking in
foundation the explanation given in your note for this action of the
United States Government. This Embassy has definitely established
that on no occasion has the attention of Colonel Berezin or Major
Ovchinnikov, either orally or in written form, either “repeatedly”
or in a single instance, been invited to any alleged infraction on
their part of any existing regulations of the War Department. Should
such a case of infraction have occurred and should the War
Department have in due time “politely invited their attention” to
such infraction, any representation of this kind would without doubt
have been heeded. The Government of the United States has chosen
instead
[Page 624]
to advance against
Colonel Berezin and Major Ovchinnikov allegations which, contrary to
the statement of your note of June 10, were not preceded by any
representations.
In view of the fact that this action of the Government of the United
States comes at a time when the Government of the United States
takes successive steps which prejudice the interests of the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics and impair relations between the two
countries in the economic, political, cultural and now also in the
military sphere, my Government cannot qualify the request for
withdrawal of the Assistant Military Attachés for Air as other than
a new expression of the same hostile attitude of the Government of
the United States toward the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, to
which I was compelled to refer in my note of May 14, 1941.66 I am therefore directed to state to you my
Government’s protest against this action of the Government of the
United States.
The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics desires to
make it clear that in recalling the officers who are considered persona non grata to the Government of the
United States, the Soviet Government is only complying with
international custom, and that this recall should not be interpreted
as recognition by the Soviet Government of the validity of the
allegations concerning Colonel Berezin and Major Ovchinnikov.
Accept [etc.]
