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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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From:  telegram of the plenipotentiary representative of the USSR in the Turkish republic ca. Vinogradova in the peopleʹs commissariat for foreign affairs of the USSR

December 13, 1940

Out of line top secret

.....

Moreover, the Turkish government was informed about this proposal. Saracoglu said: ʺthis was done at our request; we would like to hear Molotovʹs answer.ʺ I repeated that I would forward the ministerʹs statement to Moscow and noticed that lately there have been persistent rumors about the alleged negotiations between Turkey and Bulgaria. Saracoglu replied: “negotiations are too much. I can say that, wishing to ensure tranquility in the Balkans, we have put forward some suggestions from our side”. I said that there were rumors about the upcoming conclusion between Turkey and Bulgaria of some kind of agreement, perhaps even a mutual assistance pact. Saracoglu reiterated that “talking about a pact is too much. Considering that Bulgaria, like us, is interested in preserving peace, we put forward some considerations. As for the fears of Bulgaria on the part of Turkey, we gave her repeated assurances that she had nothing to fear from us”. I replied that I still do not understand from the ministerʹs answer whether the rumors that an agreement is being prepared between Turkey and Bulgaria are true. Avoiding a direct answer, Saracoglu asked me if I consider it possible for Bulgaria to agree to a mutual assistance pact with Turkey? I replied that it was difficult for me to speak for the government of Bulgaria and, moreover, in this case, I was not interested in the position of Bulgaria, but in the position of Turkey. Saracoglu, agreeing with me, said: “there are three currents in Bulgaria: its leaders are closely connected with Germany and the pro‐German trend is strong there. But there is also a strong movement for the preservation of peace. It reveals itself less, but there is also a trend that advocates strengthening ties with the Soviet Union. We are based on Bulgariaʹs desire to keep the peace in the Balkans. We are not obliged according to the pact to inform the Soviet Union, since Bulgaria is our neighbor, but we will widely inform the Soviet government on these issues. ʺ I then asked Saracoglu for his opinion on the current situation. The minister said: “it is very difficult to make any assumptions now, since reason and logic do not play any role at the moment in determining the course of events. Now every day you can expect some news. ʺ as unexpected and inexplicable, in his opinion, the events Saracoglu cited the Italian attack on Greece *, suggesting that ʺby the spring the Greeks will be able to throw the Italians into the sea.ʺ referring to the Turkish‐German relations, Saracoglu said: “there are unthinkable disagreements between our country and Germany. If Germany does not intend to descend into the Balkans, then there is no reason to complicate our relations with her. Since we received assurances from berlin that they have no aggressive intentions towards Turkey and the Balkans, we can note the improvement in relations between our countries. 

I personally believe that Germanyʹs assurances can be trusted, at the moment they obviously really do not want to go down to the Balkans. However, we remain very vigilant, since there are no guarantees that when it needs it, Germany will find thousands of reasons and excuses to do what it wants. In any case, we state that the Soviet Union is calm, and we are also calm. ʺ Saracoglu asked me if I could inform him about the results of the berlin talks. I said that, as far as I know, Dekanozov informed Aktay on this matter. I can only repeat the same. Saracoglu said that he knew Dekanozovʹs answer.

During the conversation, Saracoglu was very nervous and not particularly talkative. It was very noticeable that when he raised his last question, he expected to receive a more detailed answer than the one given by Dekanozov to Aktay.

Vinogradov

Wua rf, f.059, op.1, p.314, d.2163, l.170‐174.