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impede these negotiations they were attempting to conclude a commercial agreement with Russia,
 
and that this would be merely in the nature of "a petit Jeu". "Can you conceive," Count Ciano 
 
added with great bitterness, "of our being asked to regard a military alliance between Germany 
 
and Communist Russia as being merely  a petit jeu'?"    "Do you further realize," he asked, "that 
 
Hitler called me on the telephone only on August 21 last to announce the conclusion of this 
 
alliance to me, and that before I had even had time to get Mussolini on the telephone to break the
 
news to him, this very radio in my own office here was carrying the report already broadcast to 
 
the whole world?  "That," he said, "was the way in which Italy was advised as to German 
 
foreign policy." "And with regard to Poland," he continued, "the clear-cut terms of
 
understanding with Germany provide that if Germany undertakes any military adventure, Italy
 
 must be first afforded the opportunity of consultation. We did everything we could to prevent the
 
invasion of Poland, but we were never given any real chance to exert any influence upon Hitler to
 
prevent it."
 
     The Minister went on to say that the Italian Government had the deepest sympathy for the
 
"real Poles ". It believed that Poland must be reconstituted. To that end the Italian Government
 
continued to recognize a Polish Embassy in Rome, and the Minister himself continued to spend a 
 
great part of his time in bringing what influence he could to bear upon Germany to mitigate the 
 
severity of its treatment of Polish nationals in occupied territory.  
 
     The Minister then talked about Russia and Russian policy. He said that Italy had always
 
proclaimed that Russian