FROM A LETTER TO THE SOVIET AMBASSADOR IN GERMANY
October 18, 1918
I received your letter of October 13 after having dispatched
my own letter to you.
I am not opposed to continuing “diplomatic maneuvering.” But its significance has diminished. The crux of the matter is whether the Entente will manage to deploy substantial forces in the Black Sea. I have long been warning everyone, everywhere, about this danger—and I made this point quite clearly in my letter to the Central Committee.*
The fundamental difference from February 1918 is that back then we had the opportunity to buy time by handing over the land. Now, such an opportunity no longer exists.
With best regards, Yours, Lenin**