For the Ambassador for his information.
Astakhov called on me on Saturday in order to communicate to me the following:
He had received instructions from Molotov to state here that the Soviets were interested in a discussion of the individual groups of questions that had heretofore been taken up. A. designated as such questions, among others, besides the pending economic negotiations, questions of the press, cultural collaboration, the Polish question, the matter of the old German-Soviet political agreements. Such a discussion, however, could be undertaken only by degrees or, as we had expressed it, by stages. The Soviet Government proposed Moscow as the place for these discussions, since it was much easier for the Soviet Government to continue the conversations there. In this conversation, A. left the matter open as to whom we would propose to conduct the conference, the Ambassador or another personage, to be sent out.
To my question as to what priority the Soviets assigned the question of Poland, A. replied that he had received no special instructions regarding sequence, but that the chief stress of his instructions lay in the phrase " by degrees."
These communications of A.'s were probably the amplified instructions to the Chargé of which you notified us.
Subject to further instructions.
SCHNURRE