740.00119 European War 1939/1381: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Standley)
210. In view of the contents of the Soviet memorandum handed to you by Molotov and reported in your telegram number 252, April 6, we believe that you should not seek on your own initiative a further interview with Molotov on the subject. However, when you have occasion again to talk with Molotov you may tell him that this Government is taking no further steps with a view to facilitating direct contact between the Soviet and Finnish Governments since the Soviet Government apparently does not believe that such contact would yield any positive results in the absence of some indication, which this Government is unable to furnish, of Finnish willingness to accept the Soviet terms as a basis for negotiations. You will make it clear that we have not sounded out the Finnish Government with regard to terms, but have consistently confined our good offices to endeavors to facilitate the establishment of direct contact between the two Governments.
For your confidential information only. In our telegram 183, March 31, 5 p.m. to you we avoided any specific comment on the Soviet terms because we still hoped that direct contact between the Finnish and Soviet Governments might possibly lay the ground work for fruitful negotiations. We at no time contemplated acting as intermediary for the transmission of these terms to the Finnish Government since it was obvious that they would be inacceptable to the Finnish Government and if suggested prior to the opening of the negotiations would serve merely to strengthen the Finnish ties with Nazi Germany and to increase Finnish determination to pursue the war with the Soviet Union to the bitter end.