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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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Telegram of the peopleʹs commissar for foreign affairs of the USSR to the peopleʹs commissariat for foreign affairs of the USSR, from London. May 14, 1937

1937 g on May 14.

Yesterday I had breakfast at Ismet Inonu’s, and today I have it. We had two long conversations with him. He pointed to the existing opinions about the cooling between us, which, however, does not correspond to reality. But while they have denied these rumors several times, we have been silent. I explained to him that since the whole world saw the reasons for the cooling in the political actions of Turkey, it was natural for Turkey to come up with refutations, and since our policy towards Turkey did not give any reason to talk about cooling on our part, then we had nothing refute. I told him that, unlike friendship between people, friendship between states is important not only in itself, but also in the assessment of the outside world. If this world begins to doubt such a friendship, then it loses in its value. Then I have listed all those points of Turkish politics, which raised similar doubts. Ismet defended himself but was pinned to the wall. The conversations ended with the statement that the friendship of the USSR with Turkey is a constant and long‐term element of the policy of both countries, Ismetʹs promise to make it clear to both Italy and Germany that their efforts to tear Turkey away from the USSR are doomed to failure, and in the future to pursue Turkish policy along the lines of the league of nations and collective security.

Despite Ismetʹs conversations in Paris with bloom and Delbos, he still does not hope to settle the conflict and asked me to influence France. I suggested that a general improvement in relations with France and the prospect of closer cooperation with her, perhaps, would make France more compliant. In this regard, I tried to find out whether France made an offer to Turkey on a mutual assistance pact and how Ismet relates to this. He said that there was no formal proposal, that he didn’t even seem to know what pact was in question, but upon further questioning he had to admit that such a pact with France would be unacceptable for Turkey at the present time. I believe ismet will learn something from my argument. [1]

Litvinov

 

[1] a copy of the telegram was sent to the USSR embassy in Turkey.