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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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Recording of the conversation of the USSR plenipotentiary representative in Turkey with the minister of foreign affairs of Turkey Aras and the minister of internal affairs of Turkey Shukru Kaya. June 18, 1937

June 18, 1937

Aras said that he would not be in Moscow by July 1‐2. Thus, it will target July 13‐14. He cannot give the exact date now, as he still has a long trip ahead. He will transmit this date to Moscow through our plenipotentiary in Tehran. Five of his personal employees will come with Aras.

Shukru Kaya will leave Istanbul in such a way as to arrive in Moscow at the same time as Aras or one or two days earlier. He will travel by sea if there is a suitable steamer, or through Negoreloye. He will be accompanied by two parliament members ‐ central committee member Rahmi Apak (former military attaché in Moscow) and Osman Shevki, two employees of the ministry of foreign affairs and his personal secretary.

As for the way back, Aras does not want to go either through Warsaw or through berlin. He also does not intend to return via Romania. He has just been to Bucharest twice, and for the third time it is inconvenient and unnecessary for him to go. The easiest way is through Odessa. However, he does not know if there will be a suitable steamer, and in general he would not like to give us much trouble. Therefore, he had the idea to go through Scandinavia and then Paris. At the same time, he would have paid a visit to his friend Holst, with whom he had established very friendly relations many years ago in Geneva, and to Sandler, whom he would have thanked for his efforts on the [Alexandretta] Sandjak. I asked if he had spoken with comrade Litvinov about this route. Aras said that it only occurred to him now. This issue has not yet been resolved, and he wants to consult with com.

I asked Aras if he had anything to say to me for transmission to Moscow in connection with his upcoming visit. Aras said no, since he is not going to raise any questions in Moscow. His visit is indeed a courtesy call. He is going to demonstrate friendly relations and to exchange views with the leaders of the Soviet government. Several times during the conversation, Aras and Shukru Kaya repeated that they hoped to meet with Stalin.

Answering my question, Aras said that minister of economy Bayar was going with him to Baghdad for talks with the Iraqi government on the oil issue. The Turkish government is concerned about the oil problem. Turkey must ensure itself the receipt of oil both in peacetime and especially in case of war. By the way, he is also going to talk about this in Moscow. As for Iraq, the Turkish government intends to receive its share of the Mosul oil in kind and build an oil refinery in Diyarbakir. The Turks also want the Iraqi government to cede its share to them. The resolution of this question depends on the consent of the British, and we will have to talk on this topic in London. The Turks have the means of pressure. An extension of the oil concession is pending, which will require the consent of the Turkish government.

Today Aras received a report from the Turkish envoy in Belgrade about his conversation with Stojadinovich. Stojadinovich believes that the berlin‐Rome axis is not solid. The contradictions of German‐Italian interests cannot be hidden, and, despite all attempts to coordinate the policies of these states in the Balkans and in the Danube basin, this has not yet succeeded. Stojadinovich is unhappy that Neurath chose the Belgrade ‐ Sofia ‐ Budapest route for his trip, and allegedly made it clear to Neurath.

The main topic of negotiations between Neurath and Stojadinovich was allegedly economic issues. Among the political issues, the problem of German‐Czechoslovak relations deserves mention. The normalization of relations between Germany and Czechoslovakia, is impeded by the policy of the Czechoslovak government towards the Sudeten Germans, as well as the Soviet‐Czechoslovak pact. However, Neurath in the most categorical form gave Stojadinovich an assurance that Germany did not have any aggressive intentions towards Czechoslovakia,

Then Aras said that he had given a directive to the Turkish envoy in Belgrade to make a deMarche on the Anti‐Soviet campaign of the Yugoslav press. In response, Stojadinovich assured the Turkish government that in relation to the USSR he adheres and will adhere to the line that he spoke about during his visit to Ankara. As for the AntiSoviet campaign that the Yugoslav press is currently waging, Stojadinovich said that he needed this campaign for reasons of domestic policy.

Aras spoke in very vague terms about the need to prepare the ground for the eastern pact, which is now becoming relevant in connection with talks about the western pact. I asked if he had done anything specifically on this matter. Aras replied that when he was in Belgrade, he asked Antonescu to probe Beckʹs attitude to Poland’s participation in the eastern pact. Due to the fact that Antonescu has not yet given him any answer, Aras concludes that this probe gave a negative result. I noticed that for me the negative position of Poland is beyond any doubt (I think that Arasʹ probing on this issue without our knowledge is unacceptable, but refrained from making any comments, not being sure that Aras had not spoken on this topic with t. Litvinov).

Aras said that on June 14, the Polish ambassador Sokolnitsky came to him with statements about the Romanian‐Polish relations. This visit, according to Aras, is a reaction to the conversations that Aras had with Antonescu in Bucharest. Sokolnitsky assured Aras. That the polishRomanian alliance is not aggressive and is not directed against any third state. To this, Aras said that Turkeyʹs attitude towards this union is well known and Sokolnitskyʹs statement cannot change the Turkish position in any way. Assurances about the usefulness of the polishRomanian alliance for the cause of peace could be convincing only if this alliance was open for the accession of third countries, in particular the USSR. Sokolnitsky said that this was impossible, as it would mean for Poland to spoil its relations with Germany.

Aras and Shukru Kaya said the situation on the Turkish‐Syrian border is much calmer. This is explained by instructions received by the local colonial French authorities from Paris. Aras expressed satisfaction at his meeting with Blum and Delbos and assured me that Franco‐Turkish relations can be considered normalized and will develop in a spirit of friendly cooperation.

Plenipotentiary of the USSR in Turkey

M. Karsky

 

[1] the text is wrong ‐ to the ambassador.