Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1943, The British Commonwealth, Eastern Europe, the Far East, Volume III

740.00119 European War 1939/1364: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Standley) to the Secretary of State

Moscow, March 26, 1943—5 p.m.
[Received March 27—4:10 p.m.]

215. My 185, March 21, noon. Molotov requested to see me this evening. He referred to our conversation of March 20³⁷ and again reading from a prepared statement he stated that an answer had been received from the British Government³⁸ to the effect that the latter did not object to the proposed negotiations. After repeating in full the statements made on March 20 as reported in my reference telegram he stated in translation substantially as follows:

“The Soviet Government must warn the Government of the United States that it does not find it possible to take the initiative in the question under discussion. However, it desires to communicate to it, exclusively for the information of the American Government, its point of view in respect to the minimum terms that it would be prepared to accept in negotiations looking for a separate peace. These terms are as follows:

(1) Immediate severance of Finland from Germany and removal of German troops from Finland.

(2) Restitution of the Soviet-Finnish treaty of 1940 with all the consequences arising therefrom.

(3) Demobilization of the Finnish Army and transformation thereof to peace time status.

(4) Recompensation for at least one half of the damage caused to the Soviet Union by Finland in the present war.

Since Finland violated its treaty of peace with the Soviet Union the Soviet Government could demand of Finland full recompensation for damages caused by Finland and complete disarmament of Finland. However, the Soviet Government does not desire to take vengeance on Finland and for this reason does not lay down these terms.”

After careful checking the above terms I informed Molotov that I would inform my Government immediately of our conversations.

Standley

37. See telegram No. 185, March 21, noon, from the Ambassador in the Soviet Union, p. 253.
38. British Prime Minister Churchill, in reply to a telegram from Soviet Premier Stalin, dated March 15, had cabled Stalin on March 20 to the effect that while the latter could “best judge of how much military value it would be in the struggle against the Germans to get Finland out of the war,” Churchill thought that it would release “more Soviet divisions than German divisions for use elsewhere.” See Winston S. Churchill, The Hinge of Fate, vol. iv, pp. 751–752. The substance of this British reply was communicated to Under Secretary of State Welles on April 3, 1943, by Sir Ronald I. Campbell, British Minister in the United States (740.00119 EW 1939/1376½).