861.24/621
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
The Soviet Ambassador called at his request. I mentioned the Japanese situation and said that I felt that the tension had lessened substantially since I had talked with him some days ago; that I did not think now there would be any interference with the cargoes of oil and gasoline en route to Vladivostok for Russia, although there had been a terrific campaign waged in Japan in favor of interference; that I had made no reply to such protests except to comment orally and casually [Page 828] on them; that I felt that that was the best way to treat the matter at this time; that when Dr. Hornbeck78 spoke to the Ambassador on the general question of routing future shipments, I only had in mind the matter of determining what route would be most desirable for a vastly increased volume of shipments of military supplies to Russia during coming months; that a direct route to Vladivostok would probably result in constant Japanese bickerings and threats, and possibly the mining of that area of the sea, and that it might be well for the Soviet Government to be planning the route which it deemed most advisable to use—the present one or some other route—and that I was not making any suggestion whatever as to this matter.
I said that I thought Japan would be quiescent so far as military attacks were concerned, at least for a time. The Ambassador said that what I had stated agreed with his own ideas and the information he had from other sources.
- Stanley K. Hornbeck, Adviser on Political Relations.↩