741.6111/29: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 23—9:15 p.m.]
3508. We inquired of Sir Orme Sargent76 this morning whether the Anglo-Soviet treaty had resulted in any noticeable improvement in relations between the two Allies. He replied emphatically in the affirmative. Clark Kerr reports that Molotov has returned to Russia “a new man”. Sargent said that he felt much of Russian suspicion [Page 599] was due to their ignorance with regard to the outside world and of course to the ostracism to which they had been subjected for some 20 years; consequently the “educational value” of Molotov’s trip to London and Washington and the reception accorded him in both capitals must prove helpful in dissipating Russia’s anti-foreign complex. As a concrete example, he said, the British Military Mission to Russia has found a marked change in the attitude of the Russian military authorities: The latter are beginning to lift the veil of deep secrecy with which they have hitherto shrouded practically every military problem in which the British have shown interest.
- Deputy Under Secretary of State in the British Foreign Office.↩