Count Benckendorff expressed his opinion that these exaggerated rumours had been spread designedly in order to foster ill-feeling between Great Britain and Russia, and thought we should spare no pains in order to dissipate them. There was, he said, no reason whatever why the two Governments should have trouble over Tibet. Russia had no political designs upon the country, and he presumed we had not.
Lord Lansdowne replied that if he was invited to say that we had no desire to annex Tibetan territory, he would unhesitatingly answer in the affirmative, but he was bound to be careful how he gave general assurances, the import of which might hereafter be called in question, as to our future relations with Tibet. It was natural that the Indian Government should desire to promote Indian trade in that country, and they would no doubt take whatever measures seemed to them necessary for that purpose. The Ambassador admitted that this was only natural.
A few days later, on February 18, Lord Lansdowne, in a further conversation with the Russian Ambassador, recurred to the same subject.[19] He said that the Indian Government had been seriously perturbed by the communication made to the Foreign Office. The interest of India in Tibet was, Lord Lansdowne said, of a very special character. With a map of Central Asia before him, he pointed out to the Ambassador that Lhasa was within a comparatively short distance of the Indian frontier, while, on the other hand, it was considerably over 1,000 miles from the Asiatic possessions of Russia, and any sudden display of Russian interest or activity in the regions immediately adjoining the possessions of Great Britain could scarcely fail to have a disturbing effect upon the population, or to create the impression that British influence was receding, and that of Russia making rapid advances into regions which had hitherto been regarded as altogether outside her sphere of influence.
Lord Lansdowne added that he had received from apparently trustworthy sources reports to the effect that Russia had lately concluded agreements for the establishment of a Russian protectorate over Tibet, and also that, if she had not already done so, she intended to establish Russian agents or Consular officers at Lhasa, and he thought it of the utmost importance that as the Ambassador had disclaimed on the part of Russia political designs upon Tibet, he should be in a position to state whether these rumours were or were not without foundation.