File No. 861.00/2621
The Ambassador in Russia (Francis) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 2, 2.47 a.m.]
369. I gave informal copy of Department’s declaration on Russian relations to President new government. Just received following reply:
After the receipt from you [of] copy [of] communication [of] your government to press, 4th August, transmitted by Reuter, its contents were put before sovereign government, northern region, for its consideration. As result this sovereign government asked me [to] inform you [of] its conclusions.
Sovereign government shares fully your government’s opinion regarding role of Allied armed forces in Russia under present conditions. It welcomes with a particular pleasure the readiness of your government to help us in reconstructing our own army for successful [Page 515] struggle against our common enemy as well as in reorganization of our national government for one whole Russia and so far as it would be acceptable for the Russian people. This help of Allied powers seems to us essential for interests of Allied cause and is guarantee of sincerely friendly future relations between us and Allies in general, and between American and Russian democracies in particular. We fully appreciate your government’s decisive declaration regarding its intention not to break the sovereignty of Russia and abstain from any interference into internal affairs our country. Such disinterested decision’on part [of] your government appears to us proof of its deep and truly statesmanlike understanding of interests of Allied cause in Russia, success of which depends to great extent on unanimous enthusiasm of population and on its full confidence towards Allies. We are quite certain any attempt to exercise any political pressure or interfere in governing of country would provoke among population, not the strengthening of its true patriotism, but either protest and resistance, or in the best case indifference to regeneration of our motherland.
With a feeling of sadness we must state that the true interests of Allied cause and the ways of effectively helping Russia in her present conditions are not equally understood by all the Allies. Still we hope that the organized efforts of the interested parties will result, in the near future, in a full unity of the opinions in this question and in a complete accord of the united actions.
The sovereign government evidently is pointing out that the humane and leading part in this uniting of the views [for] arrival at true interpretation of the interests of the Allied cause in Russia will belong to the Government of the United States.
Chaikovski, replying to my request that [when] his reply published last two foregoing paragraphs be omitted as would injure government and embarrass me, said reply not be published here. Just attended meeting Russo-American committee for closer commercial relations and made speech noncommittal except anti-German.