We must maintain Austria proper. Were Russia to unleash the South Slavs, we would be lost. ... If the Serbian quarrel passes without Russian mobiliza… - Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg

My last speech before the assembled Reichstag on December 12, 1916, concerned the proposal of Germany and her Allies to enter into peace negotiations Our action found a lively echo in the neutral countries. But in the enemy countries the stubborn war lust of their rulers was stronger than the cry of the nations for peace. Our enemies alone bear the enormous guilt for the continued bloodshed. It was they who rejected the hand of understanding.

We can assure the English cabinet—presupposing its neutrality—that even in case of a victorious war, we will seek no territorial aggrandizement in Europe at the cost of France.

Like you, I believe our most urgent task is a modus vivendi with England. In the last analysis even Morocco was intended to facilitate this. ... We should do everything our finances allow for our defenses on land and sea, but we must work as quietly as possible, not threaten boisterously. Only then can we improve our relations with London and prevent a new naval law from leading to war.