761.6211/58: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State

454. A Tass announcement on Soviet-German relations in today’s6 press after stating that following the conclusion of the commercial agreement the question of the improvement of the political relations between Germany and the Soviet Union arose, continues “The exchange of opinions between the Governments of Germany and the Soviet Union which took place on this question established the presence of a desire on both sides to relieve the tension of the political relations between them, to eliminate the threat of war and to conclude a pact of non-aggression. In connection therewith the German Minister for Foreign Affairs Von Ribbentrop will shortly arrive in Moscow for the necessary negotiations”. News reports reaching Moscow last night6 concerning a similar announcement by the German Government stated that Von Ribbentrop will leave Berlin by air tomorrow7 for Moscow. A further news report stated that the Soviet Chargé d’Affaires Astakhov left Berlin yesterday6 for Moscow by air.

The announcement of Ribbentrop’s proposed visit would indicate that the preliminary discussions in respect of a non-aggression pact suggested by Molotov were conducted with extreme rapidity in Berlin and it is probable that the other points indicated by Molotov as Soviet desiderata in any negotiations with Germany namely the cessation of German encouragement to Japan in the Far East and [Page 338] the regulation of the question of the Baltic States were also discussed and will be the subject of negotiation here during Ribbentrop’s visit.

The swift development of Soviet-German relations came as a complete surprise to the British and French Embassies here and members thereof were quite openly concerned already yesterday at the announcement of the conclusion of a trade agreement and particularly at the prediction contained in the Pravda editorial reported in my telegram 453, August 21 of an improvement in the political relations between the two countries.

Steinhardt
  1. Presumably August 21 is intended.
  2. Presumably August 21 is intended.
  3. Presumably August 23 is intended. See telegram No. 852, August 21, midnight, from the Chargé in Germany, supra.
  4. Presumably August 21 is intended.