761.71/287: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Thurston) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 14—2:58 a.m.]
1160. Embassy’s 1157, September 13. A Secretary of the Italian Embassy stated today that Gafencu had been dining at the Italian Embassy last night when he received an urgent summons to visit Dekanosov who presented to him the protest concerning further alleged frontier incidents contained in the announcement reported in the Embassy’s telegram under reference.
The informant offered the opinion that the Foreign Office announcements testified to the Soviet displeasure at the German-Italian guaranty to Rumania but that it was motivated principally by the desire on the part of the Soviet Government to call attention to its interests in the Balkan area and also to demonstrate both at home and abroad that the Soviet Union had not been overawed by the German-Italian guaranty. The Italian Secretary further stated that he had reason to believe that the German Ambassador (Embassy’s 1101, September 1, 10 a.m.12) was unaware when he called on Molotov on August 29 of the impending guaranty and consequently had been unable to inform Molotov thereof; and that the Soviet communiqué published the following morning (see Embassy’s 1088, August 30) regarding the alleged border incidents on the Soviet-Rumanian frontier had not been issued in anticipation of a disordered situation or collapse in Rumania from which the Soviet Union intended to profit. He added that the German-Italian guaranty had been impelled by the belief that Rumania would prefer to resist the Hungarian demands by force of arms unless Germany and Italy agreed to guarantee the remaining frontiers. He concluded with the observations that while it was to be doubted that the Soviet Union would directly challenge the German-Italian guaranty by armed violation of the Rumanian frontier nevertheless the strain on Soviet-German relations which this guaranty had imposed would not be easily removed.
Repeated to Berlin.
- Not printed; according to this telegram it was understood that the German Embassy had informed foreign correspondents in Moscow that the German Ambassador had informed Molotov of “German plans in the Balkans.” (761.71/279)↩