First, Halifax invited me over to say that the British government had instructed Stanley to enter into talks with me about the immediate prospects for Anglo-Soviet trade and that Stanley was hoping to see me today. I agreed to the meeting, and Halifax undertook to inform the Minister for Trade. Then Halifax asked me about the incident with the City of Flint

First American ship to be seized by the German navy on the grounds of contraband. Refused entry into a Norwegian port, it finally berthed in Murmansk.

and about our talks with Finland, expressing the hope that peaceful relations between the Soviet Union and Finland would be maintained. I could hardly illuminate Halifax about the first matter, for my own information about the incident came only from TASS and newspaper reports. As far as the second question was concerned, I did my best to reassure Halifax along the lines of Comrade Kalinin’s letter to Roosevelt on the subject. It was clear, however, that Halifax was interested not in Finland itself, but in the effect the Finnish situation could have on Anglo-Soviet relations. That’s why Halifax set about assuring me once again that the B[ritish] G[overnment] very much wished to improve or ‘at least not to worsen’ our trade relations and that the forthcoming trade negotiations would be just the first step in this direction. However, the honourable Lord’s assurances were accompanied by such an evident lack of faith in the possibility of anything being achieved that I sniggered and called him an ‘incorrigible pessimist’.

Secondly, my meeting with Stanley took place late yesterday evening. Also present was Cripps, who has been displaying great energy behind the scenes with regard to the matter of improving Anglo-Soviet relations. This even led to his recent appointment as legal adviser to the Board of Trade. At Stanley’s request, I came to his flat. We talked for about an hour.

Stanley spoke at some length about the British government’s desire to maintain or even expand Anglo-Soviet trade and suggested that we begin talks on the plan for next year’s trade between our countries. He will present me with a provisional list of the goods Britain would like to buy from us in 1940, and we will prepare the same for the British government – this will allow us to reach agreement on the yearly balance. The trade plan involves many other issues that should also be discussed, such as prices, licences, transport, etc. Stanley thinks that the first, preparatory part of the negotiations should be held in London. If and when it becomes clear that an agreement is likely, Stanley will go to Moscow to ‘crown’ the whole business. As he can stay in Moscow for only a couple of days, it would be good to do all the drafting and preparatory work in England. I promised Stanley that I would consult with the Soviet government just as soon as he provided me with a plan for British purchases, albeit in the most provisional form, and a rough outline of what Britain could export to the USSR in 1940.

Today Stanley sent me this ‘plan’, or rather a rough draft. The British government intends to buy goods from us to the value of no less than 12 million pounds (timber and raw materials to a sum of more than 9 million, including petrol and oil to the sum of 1.5 million) and is ready to provide us, ‘for the USSR’s internal use’, with rubber, tin, lead, jute, certain types of copper, etc. Regarding machines, equipment and so on, the draft is highly cautious: the British government is prepared to discuss the matter, but does not promise anything.

I communicated all this to Moscow. We’ll be waiting for the response.

Cripps told me that the British government was very keen for Stanley to visit Moscow, but feared that his visit could end in failure, which would be a blow to the Cabinet’s prestige. Stanley is also wary of failure, for the effect it would have on his career. So the British government’s aim is for the ground to be prepared as thoroughly as possible, so as to be sure of striking lucky. In Cripps’s words, ‘Stanley does not wish to follow in Saraçoğlu’s footsteps.’