Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1919, Russia

861.00/3638: Telegram

The Danish Chargé in Russia (Nordlien) to the Acting Secretary of State

Petrograd, undated.
[Received January 16, 1919, 10:45 a.m.]

Tchitcherin begs to transmit following.¹⁰

[“]Radiotelegram received from Lyons on January 12th communicates declaration made by Senator Hitchcock, Chairman of Foreign Relations Committee, concerning the reason of American troops being sent to Russia.¹¹ The first reason given is that American troops were to prevent the establishment of a German submarine base at Archangel. Whether previously justified or not at any rate at present this reason exists no more. As to the second, guarding Allied stores, already in the spring of last year we entered into negotiations with the view guaranteeing the interests of the Entente Governments in this respect and we are ready now to give every reasonable satisfaction upon this question. As to the alleged danger of these stores falling into the hands of Germany, whether previously justified or not, this fear is now without object. The third reason given, maintaining a gateway for the arrival and departure of diplomats and others, we think that the best way to attain that end is to enter into an agreement with our Government. The American Ambassador, Mr. Francis, at the time when he left our country could fully unprevented depart or arrive, we had only asked him not to remain in Vologda for the sole reason that his residence there was accompanied with great danger for his personal safety and we offered him as a most appropriate residence some villa in Moscow or in its suburbs. For the fourth reason, the guaranteeing of the safety of the Tcheck Slovacks; there is nothing to prevent this being attained in full by an agreement with our own Government. We have officially proposed to the Tcheco Slovacks their passage home through Russia under conditions securing their safety [and] ours and having [we have] come to a complete agreement with the President of the Tchecho Slovak National Council in Russia, Professor Maxa. He has now gone to Bohemia to communicate our proposals to the Checho Slovack Government. Last reason given by Senator Hitchcock is the preventing of the formation of an army composed of German and Austrian prisoners. At present the only thing preventing all confined Austrians returning home is the presence of Entente troops or of White Guards protected by them passing [blocking?] the way to the prisoners. We are therefore at a loss to understand how the maintenance of American troops in Russia can be justified. As we can see from this same radiotelegram received from Lyons our perplexity is shared by prominent leaders of the principal political parties of America. They expressed the desire that American troops should be withdrawn from Russia as soon as possible. We share their desire of normal relations between our two countries being reconstituted and we are ready to remove all what can be of hindrance to such normal relations. It is not the first time that we made such a declaration. We sent a communication to that effect through the Norwegian Minister in Russia.¹² When a week later the Norwegian Attaché, Mr. Christensen, left Moscow we made through him verbal overture in order to put an end to bloodshed. On November 3d we invited all the neutral representatives then in Moscow and communicated through their medium written proposals to the powers of the Entente¹³ with view to open negotiations to prevent any further bloodshed between our armies. In November, Congress of the Soviet of Russia declared before the face of the world to the powers of the Entente that it proposed to them the opening of peace negotiations and this declaration was spread by radio to all stations.¹⁴ On December 23d our representative Litvinoff informed the Entente Ministers in Stockholm once more the desire of the Russian Government of settling all outstanding questions.¹⁵ In addition to this circular letter he wired to President Wilson in London suggesting a peaceful issue.¹⁶ It lies therefore with you, not with us, if such a settlement has not yet been arranged. The perplexity about the presence of American troops in Russia has also been shared by the American officers and soldiers themselves and we have even had opportunities of hearing from some of them directly expressions of this perplexity. When we pointed out to them that in fact their presence aimed at an attempt to put the Russian people under the yoke of the oppressors which it had cast off, the result of this disclosure was not unfavorable to the personal relation of these American citizens to ourselves. We hope that the peaceful views of the able owned [sic] Senators will be shared by all Americans and we request the American Government kindly to make known the place and date for opening peace negotiations with our representatives. The Commissary of the People for Foreign Affairs, Tchitcherin.[”]

This telegram sent to Foreign Office, Copenhagen, and Washington.

V. Nordlien

10. The Russian text of Chicherin’s note in Mezhdunarodnaya Politika, pt. ii, p. 212, is dated Jan. 12.
11. Congressional Record, Jan. 9, 1919, vol. 57, pt. 2, pp. 1161 ff.
12. See telegrams nos. 1290 and 1297 from the Minister in Norway, Oct. 29 and Nov. 2, 1918, Foreign Relations, 1918, Supp. 1, vol. i, pp. 448–455.
13. See telegram of Nov. 5, 1918, from the Minister in Norway, ibid., p. 471.
14. See footnote 1, ante, p. 1.
15. Transmitted in telegram no. 3394 from the Minister in Sweden, Dec. 24, 1918, ante, p. 1.
16. Not found in the Department files. See quotation by L. Martens, p. 138.