763.72119/3242: Telegram

The Minister in Roumania ( Vopicka ) to the Acting Secretary of State

34. I was asked by my colleagues, the French, English, and Italian Ministers, to send the following telegram which they have sent themselves to their respective Governments and which has reference to the agreement made before the war between these three countries, Russia and Roumania:

“The Roumanian Government is disturbed because it has not yet received precise assurances that the engagements taken regarding the convention of the 17 August, 1916, and mentioned again in the memorandum which we have sent November 10th by our identic telegram number 767.23 As we have already declared the Roumanian Government considers that said convention was never broken, not only morally and politically, but also judicially. The peace of Bucharest, which was never ratified and which was imposed by force majeure owing to the hopeless situation which resulted from the treachery of Russia, was absolutely not the fault of Roumania. The Roumanian Government states that if any doubt exists as to the last statement it should be proven by their coming into the war before the armistice was signed. The King and the Prime Minister received on that occasion from London and Paris a telegram of congratulation that Roumania again joined the Allies. Mr. Bratiano showed us the urgent necessity to disperse in the public opinion every uncertainty on said point. The Government needs all the moral authority it can get so that it can control the situation, which is very grave and which results from the extreme misery and famine. Any deception from the national point of view will disappoint them in presence of that situation and make it impossible for Roumania to cooperate with the Allies in Russia.[”]

I know that Bratiano is forcing the Entente Ministers to give to Roumania not only everything which was promised by the Entente but a great deal more. My opinion is that this copy the Entente telegram is sent for the purpose to influence our country regarding the disputed part of Banat in favor of Roumania.

Vopicka
  1. For text of the memorandum, see telegram No. 142, Nov. 13, 1918, from the Minister in Roumania, p. 387.