760p.62/77: Telegram
The Chargé in Latvia (Packer) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 11—1:56 p.m.]
343. I am informed from a usually reliable source that in response to its appeal to the Soviet Government the Latvian Government had received a communication from the former, first, stressing the Soviet Union’s intention to safeguard Latvian interests and, secondly, advising the Latvian Government to accede to all the demands being made by Germany in connection with the trade negotiations now being carried on in Berlin. In the latter connection the communication is said to state that, as the Soviet Union is unable to meet all Germany’s demands for foodstuffs, Latvia should contribute as much as possible, the Soviet Union promising to compensate her at a later date.