740.0011 European War 1939/19212
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
The British Ambassador called to see me this morning urgently at his request.
The Ambassador said that his Government had been advised by the Soviet Government that the latter did not feel that Great Britain was making enough war effort and that one of the matters in which the British could give assistance to the Soviet Government would be through the declaration of war by Great Britain upon Finland, Hungary, and Rumania.
The Ambassador said that consequently his Government had determined to declare war upon Finland and that in the carrying out of this policy it requested the United States Government, as representing British interests in Finland, to deliver tomorrow, November 28, to the Finnish Government a secret communication from the British Government stating that unless Finland by December 3 agreed to refrain from any further participation in the war against the Soviet Union, Great Britain would declare war upon her.
The Ambassador handed me two documents, the first an explanatory memorandum,82 and the second the text of the message to be communicated to Finland.83
I stated that in as much as this Government, which was representing British interests in Finland, was merely requested by the terms of this communication to act as a transmitting agent, this Government would agree to transmit the communication to the Finnish Government as requested by Great Britain.