File No. 763.72119/1504
The Ambassador in Great Britain ( Page ) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 25, 3.15 p.m.]
9204. I communicated to Foreign Office contents of your 6891, March 14, 6 p.m., regarding Serbo-Croat national aspirations and they have today replied that British Minister at Corfu has been instructed to inform Servian Prime Minister relative to certain observations M. Pashitch made regarding speeches delivered by Mr. Lloyd George and President Wilson that the latter expressly referred to the fact that secure and free access to the sea should be accorded to Servia, and that the former referred also to Servia being accorded full reparation.
British Minister was directed to state that Lloyd George speech expresses terms on which British Government were prepared to negotiate with Central Powers and that the future of nationalities under Austro-Hungarian and Turkish domination was referred to in very vague terms. British Government conveyed to M. Pashitch their sympathy for Servia’s sufferings in the common cause, their admiration for the way in which her duties as an ally have been carried out and their sincere hope that under terms of eventual peace Servia may secure the fulfillment of her legitimate national aspirations and security for her territory.
Sir C. Des Graz was instructed to state in reply to later inquiry by M. Pashitch that British Government saw no objection to Prime Minister stating in Skupshtina that not only full restoration for Servia but realization as far as possible of her legitimate national aspirations would result if Allies are victorious.