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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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Conversation of the peopleʹs commissioner for foreign affairs of the USSR V. M. Molotov with the ambassador of the kingdom of Italy in the USSR a. Rosso

January 27, 1941

Top secret special folder

The ambassador, accompanied by attaché relli, declares that he reported to Rome about the questions put before him by comrade Molotov in a conversation on December 30 *. At the present time he has answers from the Italian government, which instructed him to state the following to comrade Molotov.

1)                   the guarantees given by the axis powers to Romania ** are not directed against the USSR. As it follows from the very circumstances of the guarantees, Italy and Germany have a fundamental interest in maintaining peace and order in Romania. This interest is due to the close ties of the axis powers with the Romanian economy. Of vital interest to the axis powers is the extraction and transport of oil and grain from Romania to Italy and Germany. These are the reasons that prompted Germany and Italy at the end of august last year, when the situation seemed critical, to issue an arbitral award in order to save peace in the Danube basin and to ensure order in that part of Europe forever. For these reasons, Italy and Germany gave guarantees, which the Romanian government urgently requested. The arbitral award166 ʹ** provides for the cession of a significant part of the Romanian territory to Hungary. Therefore, the Italian and German governments could not help but reckon with the demand of the Romanian government to recognize its border with Hungary and its territory in general as finally guaranteed against any external interference. Since the territorial claims of the USSR against Romania had already been satisfied and the peaceful satisfaction of the Bulgarian demands could be considered close, for the axis powers there was no concern from this point of view about the provision of guarantees.

2)                   concerning the Danube problem ***. The Italian government declares that Italy is ready to get in touch with Germany and Romania and to cooperate in a practical and useful solution to the issue that would satisfy all parties. The USSR has an equal place with others in the solution of this question.

3)                   with regard to the question of the security of the USSR in the black sea, the Italian government is fully sympathetic to the change in the statute of the straits in a sense favorable to the USSR. The Italian government would, for example, agree that the right to navigate warships through the straits was granted only to the black sea powers. It goes without saying that a detailed settlement of this issue should have been reserved for future negotiations with Turkey.

Having listened to the ambassador, comrade Molotov said that he should make the following remarks. The Soviet government is seriously interested in the issue of guarantees for Romania, since it is a question of a country that has a common border with the USSR. Meanwhile, when giving guarantees to Romania, the USSR was not warned in advance. Nor was it done what took place at the conclusion of the German Italian Japanese pact of September 27, 1940, when a special clause on the interests of the USSR was introduced. It is clear that such a situation could not and cannot satisfy the Soviet government. As for the point of view of the Italian government, the statement is clear and understandable.

Turning to the Danube question, comrade Molotov says that he takes note of the Italian governmentʹs statement that it wants to cooperate with the USSR and with other participants in the settlement of this question.

The Russian government will take this statement into account and counts on the greater objectivity of the Italian representatives when discussing this issue. In this dispute between the USSR and Romania over the one‐sided position of Romania, Italy until now has always been with Romania.

As for the question of the straits, it is more complicated than the previous questions. Comrade Molotov points out that after a detailed acquaintance with todayʹs statement of the Italian government, he may have to specially formulate the point of view of the Soviet government. However, we can already say that the statement of the Italian government is of interest to the USSR and contains something new.

Comrade Molotov says that as far as he understood, the Italian government agrees to change the statute of the straits and considers it expedient to revise it so that only the black sea powers have the right to navigate warships through the straits.

Rosso replies that the meaning of his statement is as follows. The Italian government understands the importance of the straits for the security of the Soviet Union. It is so aware of this that in future negotiations it proposes to abolish the convention on the straits and allow only the warships of the black sea powers to pass through the straits. Such a solution to the issue would be of practical importance only for the USSR, since the navies of the other black sea powers are extremely insignificant.

Comrade Molotov replies that this statement is of certain interest to the USSR and asks in this connection about the reservation that was made in the statement of the Italian government that a solution to the question of the straits can take place only with the consent of Turkey. Can the Italian government inform the Soviet government about Turkeyʹs position on this issue, since Italyʹs position is made dependent on

Turkeyʹs position?

The ambassador replies that in giving its answer, the Italian government considered that Turkey has territorial sovereignty over the straits and believed that when deciding on the future regime of the straits, Turkeyʹs consent must be obtained.

Comrade Molotov asks if the Italian government has any data to judge Turkeyʹs consent to such a solution to the issue.

The ambassador replies that he has no such information and does not know whether his government has come into contact with Ankara on this issue. He assumes that there was no such contact.

Comrade Molotov asks the ambassador to ask the Italian government on this matter. The Italian government has stated its point of view with a proviso that may turn things differently than the Italian and Soviet governments think, especially given the current situation when Turkey is an ally of England and has a mutual assistance pact with the latter129. Germany, as she informed the Soviet government about this, intends to send troops through Bulgaria against Greece. In this regard, one can expect that Turkey will be dragged into the war and military actions will be transferred to the black sea. Will it not turn out that, while we are talking on this issue, Turkey will let British warships into the black sea. Can these events be avoided? Comrade Molotov says he is raising this issue because the Italian proposal depends on Turkeyʹs position.

Rosso declares that Turkeyʹs position on this issue is of great importance for the Italian government, especially in connection with the circumstances that comrade Molotov spoke about. Turkeyʹs position is the key to this situation. The Italian government has information about the possibility of the passage of German troops through Bulgaria. The Italian government also has information that if German troops enter Greece through Bulgaria without touching Turkey, Turkey will not be drawn into the war. The decision of the Italian government is based on this hypothesis. If the Turkish government is drawn into the war, then Italyʹs response to the question of the Soviet government about the straits will change.

Comrade Molotov draws the ambassadorʹs attention to the fact that the data on what Turkeyʹs position is at the moment on the issue of todayʹs proposal of the Italian government on the straits, as well as on the fact that in the case of Turkeyʹs participation in the current war in the Balkans, Italyʹs response will also change, are not included in todayʹs statement by the Italian government.

The ambassador replies that he will get in touch with his government and put before it the questions that are being put forward by comrade Molotov. The ambassador says that his governmentʹs reply concerned only the question raised on December 30 by comrade Molotov. Taking into account the interests of the Soviet government, Italy agrees to reconsider the question of the straits, but she cannot speak only about herself, since the question of the straits concerns many powers. The ambassador recalls the differences between the Soviet and British points of view that took place in Montreux. Therefore, the Italian governmentʹs response does not provide for different options. This is a general answer to the question posed by the Soviet government. The Italian government could not go into details. It wanted to emphasize its agreement with the point of view of the Soviet Union and raised the issue in a new way. About two years ago the Italian government had a different point of view on the question of the opening of the straits.

Comrade Molotov replies that he has no right to claim immediate answers to his todayʹs questions. On the other hand, he could not raise these questions earlier, since he did not have an answer from the Italian government. He emphasizes that Italyʹs position is of interest to the Soviet Union. The ambassador will understand that one cannot be satisfied with only a theoretical consideration of the question of the straits. Comrade Molotov admits that Italy has no information about Turkeyʹs position, but he would like to be informed on this score. The issue was discussed under certain conditions and therefore one cannot but touch upon the current situation. As the ambassador is informed, Germany intends, in connection with the intensification of military operations by England and Greece, to move its troops through Bulgaria to Greece. Therefore, it is legitimate, given the mutual assistance pact between England and Turkey and the current Greek‐Turkish relations, the assumption that military action could spread to the black sea. How does Italy assess Turkeyʹs position? If the Italian government finds it possible to provide information on this matter, then comrade Molotov asks him to inform about it.

The ambassador replies that he will inquire about this from Rome and asks for more details on how comrade Molotov is considering the possibility of transferring military operations to the black sea.

Comrade Molotov says it can be assumed that in response to Britain’s intensification of hostilities in Greece, Germany will carry out her intention to send troops to Greece through Bulgaria. This will pose some danger in terms of expanding the scope of military operations. The situation will then worsen and the question of the security of the USSR will become more serious. Turkey is unlikely to stay away from the conflict, since she has a pact with England. In addition, England already has a base for aircraft and submarines on the island at the entrance to the straits. The war will be transferred to the black sea, and this, naturally, will affect Turkeyʹs position on the straits issue. Such a development of events is not excluded due to the ties between Turkey and England.

The ambassador thanks comrade Molotov for the answer and promises to immediately inform Rome about the conversation.

Concluding the conversation, comrade Molotov promises to inform his colleagues in the government about the conversation with the ambassador.

Recorded subcerob wua rf, f. 06, on. 3, p. 17, d. 208, l. 1‐7.