701.6111/1112
Remarks by the Ambassador of the Soviet Union (Litvinov) on the Occasion of the Presentation of Letters of Credence to President Roosevelt 37
Mr. President: I have the honor to present you with the letter of credence accrediting me Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to you and also with the letter of recall of my predecessor.
I consider it my pleasing duty at the same time to reiterate and to emphasize my predecessors’ expressions of the friendship and high esteem which the peoples of the Soviet Union entertain for the American people and the unswerving desire of my government for the maintenance of the friendliest possible relations and closest cooperation with the Government of the United States of America. I am proud and happy that the honor of being the interpreter of these feelings and desires, belongs to me.
The Soviet Union has, like other countries, in its turn, been subjected to a treacherous attack by Nazi imperialist Germany and has, for over five months, been waging a determined struggle against the aggressor.
The peoples of the Soviet Union are happy in the realization that they are receiving from the American people not only their sympathy in this struggle, but also substantial material support, and it affords me keen pleasure to express to you, Mr. President, and to your people, the warm gratitude of my government and my country, for this generous support.
[Page 663]The fact that this aid is proffered and being increasingly extended testifies to the growing recognition by the American people of the terrible danger to all nations created by the fulfilment by Nazi Germany of the criminal program drawn up in advance by Hitler for the destruction of the political and economic independence of all countries, and the enslavement of their peoples.
The struggle against the aggression of Hitler and his imitators and against his voluntary and involuntary allies—a struggle in which all the liberties, all the spiritual, moral, cultural and political values, gained by humanity in the course of many centuries, are at stake, is becoming more and more the cause of all honest, liberty-loving, peace-loving people. While the heaviest blows and sacrifices in this struggle have fallen to the lot of the Soviet Union, the part played in it by the United States is becoming more and more prominent and active.
The successful outcome of this struggle in the shortest possible time will to a great extent depend on the coordination of the activities of its more energetic and powerful participants, on the timely and rational use of their resources, and last but not least on the maintenance among themselves of the utmost mutual understanding and confidence, which will be necessary not merely during the struggle itself, but also during the subsequent period.
I shall consider the extent to which I may be able to contribute to the creation of these conditions in the relations between our countries as the measure of the success of my mission. I feel confident, Mr. President, that I may rely upon your support and that of your government in the fulfilment of this mission.
My arrival in Washington coincided precisely with the moment in which American territory and American armed forces were subjected to attack from another state—an attack no less unexpected than that to which, five-and-a-half months ago, the Soviet Union was subjected. This event, arising from the present international situation, was brought about by the same forces and the same ideology which let loose sanguinary war in Europe and other continents. I must limit myself, at the present moment, Mr. President, to the assurance of the best wishes and warm sympathy of the people of the Soviet Union towards the American people in these days of their ordeal. I am convinced that the similar trial of the Soviet and American peoples will rivet still more strongly the bonds of friendship between them.
[The Secretary of State made a statement to press correspondents on December 11, 1941, on the attitudes of the United States and the Soviet Union toward the common menace, and of the firm intention of the United States to carry out the program of aid for the Soviet Union [Page 664] which had been agreed upon; for text, see Department of State Bulletin, December 13, 1941, page 506. On the same day the Secretary had a conversation with Ambassador Litvinov regarding Soviet policy in the war between the United States and Japan. See the memorandum by the Secretary, volume IV, page 742.]
- There is a memorandum attached to this document which explains that “the original remarks of the President were not received from the White House. They were apparently retained for the public papers of the President.” For the remarks in reply made by President Roosevelt, see Department of State Bulletin, December 13, 1941, p. 505.↩