92 years ago today, November 17, 1933 (September 30, 1933 in the lunar calendar), the United States officially recognized the Soviet Union. William C. Bullitt, the first U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union On November 17, 1933, U.S. President Roosevelt announced that the United States officially recognized the Soviet government. Roosevelt's extensive contacts with Soviet Foreign Minister Maxime Litvinov finally opened the door to bilateral relations. Roosevelt read his letter to Litvinov to 200 reporters; "I believe that our two peoples will always maintain normal and friendly relations, and our two countries will cooperate for mutual benefit and safeguarding world peace." The Soviet Union made some concessions on essential issues regarding the signing of the treaty, such as: promising not to carry out communist propaganda in the United States, granting religious freedom and all legal rights to Americans living in the Soviet Union; and abandoning all claims for compensation for the losses caused by the United States sending troops to Siberia in 1918. It is said to be the most compromising treaty signed by the Soviet Union. Establishing diplomatic relations with the United States was one of the important steps in the Soviet Union's diplomatic strategy. Although the role of the United States and the Soviet Union in international affairs in 1933 was not as significant as it would have been in the future, as their national strength grew stronger, the United States and the Soviet Union finally became the two most important forces in dominating the world.