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  Selected Secret Documents from Soviet Foreign Policy Documents Archives - 1919 to 1941

Concentrated on 1st and  2nd WW Correspondence and Meetings related to Turkey, Balkans and Iran, with some additions from Afghanistan and India.

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August 11, 1938, telegram from the plenipotentiary representative of the USSR in Turkey

A. Tereityeva in the peopleʹs commissariat of foreign

USSR affairs

Immediately 10 august 1938

Yesterday I spoke with Aras and especially noted the extremely disloyal behavior of the Turkish government towards the USSR, which in fact allowed a gathering of Japanese aggressors in its territory, including the adviser to the Japanese embassy in Moscow, who continue to this day discussing plans to deploy Anti‐Soviet work. I told Aras that he had not fulfilled his promise * not to allow the conference and to raise a stamp on the Japanese, and that all this, at a moment of extreme tension in the far east, was viewed by us as a policy of clear connivance to the aggressor. He emphasized the fact that the behavior of Aras, who turned a blind eye to the actions of the aggressors sitting in Istanbul, exposes our relations to a severe test. I added that in this unusual time, one really does not have to believe the verbal assurances, since the facts speak quite the opposite.

The content of my conversation was literally unexpected for Aras. To his disturbing question, what can be done, I answered‐. 1) publish in the press the note of the Turkish government dated august 5; 2) send to the Japanese and publish in the press a note of decisive protest indicating the insolent behavior of the Japanese, who ignored the first Turkish note prohibiting this conference; 3) to truly deliver on previous promises regarding press attacks against the Japanese, both in connection with the conference and the far east events. After some hesitation, Aras agreed with these proposals and promised to do more ʺso that the Turkish people and the whole world know the final attitude of Turkey towards the Japanese aggressor.ʺ today, ulus has already published a powerful article, which is passed on by a Tass correspondent, I inform you immediately. Aras asked Litvinov through me to inform him, in addition to the conversations published in the press, about the essence of the far eastern events. I think this should be done.

Plenipotentiary

Print. By architect.

**. About everything that will be

* see doc. No. 288. ** see gas. Izvestia, august 11, 1938