761.94/748
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Bullitt) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 31.]
Sir: I have the honor to report that, in the course of a long conversation about other matters yesterday, I inquired of Litvinov with regard to his negotiations for the sale of the Chinese Eastern Railway. He said that he had just personally taken the matter into his hands and had begun fresh discussions with the Japanese Government which, he believed, would lead to a definite result. I asked him what effect this would have on the recognition of “Manchukuo”. He replied in almost the same words that he used when I asked him the same question on March 14, saying: “Our sale of the Railway to the Government of Manchukuo will constitute de facto recognition of the Manchukuo Government.” I then asked him if that would be followed by de jure recognition. He said that the matter had not yet come up; that the Japanese had never suggested that the Soviet Union should recognize “Manchukuo.”
[Page 180]With regard to the Japanese announcement of policy toward China, he said that he believed that the object of the Japanese move was to prove to China that she could count on no real help from either the United States or Great Britain. He added that he believed that the Chinese would now be obliged to accept any demands which the Japanese Government might present and that he would not be surprised to see both Peiping and Tientsin occupied by Japanese troops during this summer.
As a final comment, Litvinov said: “It is my impression, and I find the impression general in Europe, that the United States and Great Britain are engaged in tossing the ball of responsibility in the Far East back and forth between them, each one hoping that the other will take the lead. So long as that remains the case, the Japanese will be free to do what they want. It is still my belief that the only effective method of restraining the Japanese is to arrange at once joint action by all powers having interest in the Pacific.”
Respectfully yours,