387. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Turkey1
712. From Secretary for Ambassador. Please deliver in person and orally following message from me to Prime Minister Menderes:
“Loy Henderson has given me an account of the conversations which took place during the course of his recent visit to Istanbul and Ankara. I can well understand your deep concern and your feeling that the developments which are taking place in Syria have such dangerous potentials for Turkey that no responsible Turkish Government can afford to ignore them.
We realize the urgency of the matter and are studying various alternatives for dealing with it. If you have any further information with regard to the present thinking of the Iraqis, we would appreciate it if you would convey it to us through Ambassador Warren. We would also be glad to have any ideas which may have occurred to you subsequent to Mr. Henderson’s departure.
I wish particularly to thank you and would be grateful if you would convey my thanks to President Bayar for the courtesies shown Mr. Henderson during his visit and for the frankness with which you exchanged views with him and Ambassador Warren.
I believe that Mr. Henderson told you that he thought that following his return to the US we would talk with the British with regard to the substance of the discussions which had taken place in Istanbul. We are already engaging in talks with the British at a high level and on a most secret and restricted basis. We consider that British cooperation in connection with the solution of the problem facing us would be most helpful, and we hope that we shall have it.
We are planning to send to Turkey within the next few days one or more Army or Air Force officers to discuss Turkish needs and ways for meeting them on a realistic and urgent basis.”
- Source: Department of State, S/S Files: Lot 66 D 123. Secret; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Henderson and approved and signed by Dulles.↩