Subbotić came to see me. He is terribly alarmed and concerned about C[omrade] Molotov’s visit to Berlin.

[Since the fall of France, Hitler had been facing the dilemma of whether to attempt to bring the Ribbentrop–Molotov Pact up to date through arrangements in South-East Europe or, alternatively, to proceed with vigorous preparations for war. The idea of a meeting between Molotov and Hitler originated with von Schulenburg, the German ambassador to Moscow, during a brief visit to Berlin. The realization that Russia had no intention of retreating from the Balkans prompted Schulenburg to seek a four-power pact between Germany, Russia, Italy and Japan, in order to delineate spheres of influence. Hitler’s expectations of the meeting did not tally with those of his ambassador: he assumed that, after his general idea for the ‘new Europe’ was outlined, the negotiations would gradually crystallize into a rigid proposal for delimitation that would exclude Russia from Europe and the Balkans and reflect German military supremacy. He had no intention of accommodating the Russians, beyond forcing Turkey to yield to some guarantees in the Straits and security arrangements in the Baku region. There is little to support the prevailing view that, during his visit to Berlin, Molotov conspired with Hitler to divide up the entire world – and more specifically to carve up the British Empire.