740.00119 European War 1939/1356: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Finland (McClintock)
58. 1. Our efforts in connection with the possible negotiation of a Finnish-Soviet peace treaty have been confined solely to a proposal looking to the establishment of direct contact between the Soviet and Finnish Governments in order that they themselves might then negotiate. We have at no time considered acting as an intermediary for the purpose of transmitting information regarding possible peace terms, and therefore we cannot satisfy Ramsay’s condition reported in your 470, March 24,51 for his consideration of our proposal.
2. Please prepare in appropriate form a reply in the foregoing sense to Dr. Ramsay’s communication referred to.52
3. Strictly for your guidance and information only:
- (a)
- We feel it would be most inadvisable for you to lead the Finns to expect to be offered by the Soviet Union peace terms materially better than those contained in the Moscow Peace of 1940.
- (b)
- In the present circumstances of strong German pressure on Finland you must seek to combat this pressure by means other than holding out to the Finns the possibility of any Soviet willingness to negotiate peace. This can probably only be done, we feel, by taking the line set forth in our 55, April 8.