Editing Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (section)

=== Soviet-British-French Negotiations for a Tripartite Pact ===
In March 1939, Britain made a unilateral guarantee to the Polish government, and later in April asked the Soviet Union that it should issue a declaration offering military assistance to any state bordering the USSR, on the off-chance the faced aggression of any kind.<ref>http://www.doc20vek.ru/node/355</ref> Two days later, the Soviet Union responded and stated it would not consider a unilateral guarantee, citing inequality with the other powers concerned. Instead, it proposed that:

* A trilateral mutual assistance treaty be established
* The extension of these guarantees to the Baltic states and Finland. Failure to guarantee these states was an open invitation to Germany to expand eastward
* The treaty must not be vague.<ref>http://doc20vek.ru/node/360</ref>

On the 27th of May, the British and French replied to the Soviet Union with a draft of the tripartite pact.<ref>http://doc20vek.ru/node/464</ref> In a letter to his sister, Chamberlain commented on the draft, and stated: "In substance it gives the Russians what they want, but in form and presentation it avoids the idea of an alliance and substitutes declaration of intention. It is really a most ingenious idea"<ref>Chamberlain, Neville, and Robert C. Self. “Letters to Ida 1939.” ''The Neville Chamberlain Diary Letters: The Downing Street Years 1934-1940'', vol. 4, 2005, p. 418. ''Bowker'', doi:10.1604/9780754652663.</ref>

Earlier that month in May, Maksim Litvinov, who served as the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and the primary individual negotiating with the allies, was replaced by Vyacheslav Molotov. The replacement is also used as another accusation of Stalin's supposed 'antisemitism', but this is incorrect. Anti-communists claim that Litvinov was replaced as a prelude to the 1939 Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact, since Litvinov was Jewish; however, the USSR was far from abandoning collective security talks between Britain and France. 

According to historian Geoffrey Roberts,<blockquote>"Molotov pursued them with even more vigor than Litvinov. The most likely explanation is that Molotov's appointment was connected to Litvinov's failure to make any headway in negotiations."<ref>Roberts, Geoffrey. ''Molotov''. U of Nebraska Press, 2012, http://books.google.ie/books?id=EBYqDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Molotov+Stalins+cold+warrior&hl=&cd=1&source=gbs_api</ref></blockquote>Molotov quickly pointed out in the May draft that, in the event of hostilities, there would be no immediate mutual assistance, but 'consultation' through the League of Nations. After reading the draft, he claimed that it was, "...poorly compatible with the demand for the effectiveness of this mutual assistance."<ref>http://doc20vek.ru/node/463</ref> On June 2nd, the Soviet Union submitted a counter-draft addressing these problems.<ref>http://hrono.info/dokum/193_dok/19390602pro.html</ref> However, the British and French responded by saying that the Baltic States and Finland refused to be openly guaranteed.<ref>http://doc20vek.ru/node/479</ref>

In response to this, the USSR suggested that it drop the Baltic States and Finland for the time being and asked that an agreement between the 3 Powers on mutual assistance only should be signed as soon as possible, which was a major concession for the Soviet Union. The British and French denied this.<ref>http://hrono.info/dokum/193_dok/19390616molot.html</ref>

Yet, the Soviet Union continued to insist that a military convention be signed at the same time as a political treaty, so that there would be no possibility of any vagueness in it. In Mid-July, Molotov stated that there was no point in discussions until a military convention was concluded.<ref>http://hrono.info/dokum/193_dok/19390717molot.html</ref>

On July 23rd, the British and French finally agreed to begin military discussions<ref>http://doc20vek.ru/node/809</ref>. Nobody had told Britain that the airplane had been invented, so a delegation headed by British Admiral Drax arrived at Leningrad by a slow boat, and then proceeded to Moscow in mid-July. Drax admitted that they were not there to actually sign a pact, as he had no authority to. All the delegation could do was 'negotiate'.<ref>http://www.hrono.info/dokum/193_dok/19390812cccp.html</ref>

In further discussions, the Soviet party made it excessively clear to the British and French that any military agreement would involve Red Army soldiers moving through Polish territory in order to fight the Germans.<ref>https://www.doc20vek.ru/node/900</ref><ref>[https://www.doc20vek.ru/node/900 https://www.doc20vek.ru/node/910]</ref> With this in mind, French Foreign Minister Bonnet makes clear to the French Ambassador to Poland Noel, that the Poles agreeing to allow Soviet troops into Polish territory was essential for any collective security agreement to function.<ref>http://www.hrono.info/dokum/193_dok/19390816bonne.html</ref>

In a telegram between Polish Foreign Minister Josef Beck and Polish Ambassador to France Juliucz Lukasiewicz (polish jibber translator: Yuliush Lukasevich) , Beck openly declared that Poland '''REFUSES to sign any military agreements with the USSR.'''<ref>http://www.hrono.info/dokum/193_dok/19390820bek.html</ref> This effectively sealed Poland's fate and signaled the end of the Polish state.