740.0011 European War 1939/10501: Telegram
The Ambassador in Turkey (MacMurray) to the Secretary of State
[Received 11:50 p.m.]
117. [For the] Secretary and Under Secretary. Giving its own turn to British suggestion reported in my No. 111, April 26, Turkish Foreign Office has now invited attention of German Embassy to fact that certain of Greek islands in question were demilitarized by Lausanne Convention10 (article 13) at instance and for protection of this country; and (while making clear that it has not consulted Greek Government in matter) has proposed that Turkey provisionally assume possession and administration of them and undertake to maintain their neutral and non-military status.
2. While there is reason to believe this proposal may be satisfactory to British it seems less likely to prove acceptable to Germans and might well become occasion for precipitating showdown in their relations with Turkey.
- Treaty of peace signed at Lausanne, July 24, 1923, League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. xxviii, p. 11.↩