Office of the Historian

500.A4/172: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain (Harvey)

Washington, September 17, 1921—5 p.m.

545. Following press announcement being made here. Advise Paris, Constantinople and Riga.

“The American Legation at Peking received recently from an agent of the so-called Far Eastern Republic a request that representatives thereof should be admitted to the approaching conference on limitation of armament, at which questions affecting the Far East will also be discussed.80 It was said in this communication that the so-called Far Eastern Republic would not, unless it were represented, [Page 70] accept decisions of the conference touching its interests and would oppose in every manner any violation of its sovereign rights.

As the so-called Far Eastern Republic has not been recognized by the Government of the United States, or by the other governments of the world, no formal reply has been made to this communication, but the American Minister at Peking has been instructed to convey to the agent of the Far Eastern Republic informal observations in the following sense:

In the absence of a single, recognized Russian Government the protection of legitimate Russian interests must devolve as a moral trusteeship upon the whole Conference. It is regrettable that the Conference, for reasons quite beyond the control of the participating powers, is to be deprived of the advantage of Russian cooperation in its deliberations, but it is not to be conceived that the Conference will take decisions prejudicial to legitimate Russian interests or which would in any manner violate Russian rights. It is the hope and expectation of the Government of the United States that the Conference will establish general principles of international action which will deserve and have the support of the people of Eastern Siberia and of all Russia by reason of their justice and efficacy in the settlement of outstanding difficulties.[”]

Hughes
  1. The request referred to was transmitted to the Secretary of State by telegram no. 321, Sept. 10, from the Chargé in China; not printed.↩