TELEGRAM TO GENERAL CHIANG KAI-SHEK  FR0M STALIN
 
                    (Translation from Chinese)
 
     "Your telegram only reached me yesterday. I am deeply
appreciative of your kind consideration. I am in perfect
agreement with you that the long heroic struggle China has put up
against Japan, and the present anti-Japanese front in the Pacific
are part and parcel of the general anti-Axis front. At the same
time the anti-German front assumes special significance in the
anti-Axis front, because Germany is the strongest partner of the
Axis.
 
     "Soviet Russia today has the principal burden of the war
against Germany. And Soviet Russian victory over Germany
constitutes a great hope of the other members of the anti-Axis
front, Great Britain, the United States and China. It is my
opinion that under the circumstances the Soviet today ought not
to divert its strength to the Far East, when it is beginning to
attack the German armies, for by dispersing our strength the
difficulties of the German armies will be lessened. I beg you
therefore not to insist that Soviet Russia at once declare war
against Japan.
 
     "Soviet Russia must fight Japan, for Japan will surely
unconditionally break the Neutrality Pact. We are preparing to
meet that situation, but it takes time to prepare. Therefore I
again implore you not to take the lead in demanding that Soviet
Russia at once declare war against Japan.
 
                                        Stalin"
 
Moscow, December 12, 194l