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11 May

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By Liakhovetsky, Ivan Mikhailovich (Maisky)

The Complete Maisky Diaries: Volume 2

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11 May

Yesterday Chamberlain spoke in the House about Anglo-Soviet negotiations and declared, inter alia, that the British government was taking all the necessary measures to dispel the Soviet government’s suspicions that Britain and France want to inveigle the USSR into a war with Germany while themselves hiding in the bushes. ‘If the Soviet government,’ concluded the prime minister, ‘still has any doubts on this subject, my noble friend (i.e. Halifax) believes that they

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can be easily dispelled. In this connection he has invited the Soviet ambassador to inform His Majesty’s Government of the specific grounds on which the doubts of his government rest, if they still exist, and the Soviet ambassador has willingly agreed.’

All this is sheer nonsense. Halifax did not ask me anything of the sort during my last conversation with him on 9 May, nor did I agree to anything. However, Chamberlain uttered that phrase for a reason: he was summoning the Soviet government to a ‘frank dialogue’ about the heart of the matter. That is how I interpreted the PM’s speech yesterday. Particularly after the telephone call I received from Strang: half an hour before Chamberlain’s speech, Strang called me and said with great emphasis: ‘If, in connection with the forthcoming declaration by the prime minister, you should wish to see Lord Halifax, he will be entirely at your disposal.’ Strang repeated this two or three times in various combinations.

My assumptions have been fully confirmed today. First, all the morning papers interpret the PM’s statement as an invitation to a ‘heart-to-heart talk’. The Times and the Manchester Guardian go so far as to inform the readers about a ‘long conversation’ between Halifax and myself yesterday following the session in parliament. Needless to say, no conversation occurred.

Secondly, and this is still more important, when I called on Halifax today on another matter (more on this below), his first question was: ‘Have you been instructed to communicate anything to me from the Soviet government?’

The foreign secretary was greatly disappointed when he learned that I had brought no news on this subject. Our subsequent conversation actually repeated most of what we had said to each other during our previous meeting on 9 May. I responded to Halifax’s arguments and thoughts in the spirit of today’s Izvestiya editorial, which had been sent to me by cable.

Now about the business that brought me to the Min[istry] of F[oreign Affairs] today. On Monday, 15 May, the Council of the League of Nations will convene, chaired by the USSR. Surits asked Moscow to adjourn the session until 22 May so that Potemkin, who is only today returning to Moscow from his three-week trip around the Balkans and the Near East, could also be present at the session. This certainly makes sense. An adjournment of the Council session, however, requires the unanimous agreement of all its members (and primarily of the great powers). Surits had already gained the consent of the French. I had to obtain the consent of the English.

Halifax opened his diary and started thinking aloud: ‘The week beginning 22 May is already very full for me… But… but the decisive consideration here should be the possibility of your government representative coming to Geneva… So, although this is rather difficult for me, I agree to the adjournment.’

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Then Halifax asked me who exactly would come from Moscow. C[omrade] Molotov? Or C[omrade] Potemkin?

Out of prudence I did not give a name, merely saying that ‘a representative of the Soviet government’ would come.

Halifax had obviously made his mind up that C[omrade] Molotov would not go, for he suddenly asked whether C[omrade] Potemkin spoke English. And in general, would Halifax be able to converse in English with the Soviet delegation in Geneva?

I answered half in jest: ‘If a common political language is found, linguistic problems will be easily overcome.’

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Document Details

Document Title11 May

AuthorLiakhovetsky, Ivan Mikhailovich (Maisky)

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Date1939 May 11

AOC VolumeThe Complete Maisky Diaries: Volume 2

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