865.01/12–1444
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)
I want you to know of the reply which Eden made to me to the personal message which you delivered to him for me, outlined in 10226 of December 6.1 In essence, his message thanked me for mine which he termed helpful and understanding. He added that he wished keenly for us to work closely together.
[Page 275]For your background on this matter, you should know that our statement2 was issued as a result of considerable pressure on us from our domestic press and that generally speaking, it was received very well in this country by the press and also by the Congress. In conversations with us, the British representatives here admit that they should have consulted us before taking the Italian action, but they blame us in turn for not consulting them before we issued the statement. We would not have issued a public statement had not Eden’s public declaration on the floor of the House compelled us immediately to disassociate ourselves with that policy publicly.