740.0011 European War 1939/15377: Telegram
The Minister in Finland (Schoenfeld) to the Secretary of State
[Received 4:10 p.m.]
450. My telegram No. 449 today.43 Minister of Foreign Affairs today handed me copy of aide-mémoire dated and delivered to him September 22 by Norwegian Minister44 carrying the heading that it was delivered in pursuance of request made to the Norwegian Foreign Minister Mr. Lie by the British Foreign Secretary Mr. Eden. Aide-mémoire reads as follows:
“So long as Finland, in alliance with Germany, is carrying on an aggressive war against and on the territory of the ally of Great [Page 72] Britain, his Majesty’s Government are bound to consider Finland to be a member of the Axis, since it is impossible to separate the war which Finland is waging against Russia from the general European war.
If, therefore, the Finnish Government persist in invading purely Russian territory, a situation will arise in which Great Britain will be forced to treat Finland as an open [enemy], not only while the war lasts but also when peace comes to be made.
His Majesty’s Government would greatly regret such a development in view of the friendship which has always existed between Great Britain and Finland. Although the Finnish Government have expelled the British Minister from Helsingfors, His Majesty’s Government are ready to overlook this act of discourtesy, and would welcome an early restoration of normal diplomatic intercourse between the two countries. But the Finnish Government will realize that for this to be possible the first essential is that Finland should terminate her war against Russia and evacuate all territories beyond her frontiers of 1939. As soon as this had been accomplished, His Majesty’s Government would be ready, for their part, to study sympathetically any proposals for the improvement of relations between Great Britain and Finland, even though the continued presence of German armies on Finnish soil might render impossible at first the restoration of full diplomatic relations and resumption of overseas trade on the same basis as existed so long as Finland was still neutral.”