875.6363/84: Telegram

The Minister in Albania ( Grant-Smith ) to the Secretary of State

[Paraphrase]

40. Your no. 20, May 23, 3 p.m. Use has been made of all points included in Albanian Prime Minister’s note of June 25, 1922. The Parliamentary joint committee has notified the Government that the Anglo-Persian Company’s proposals are inacceptable. The British are still holding out and stormily protesting. I have again made representations in which I have denied their pretended rights to preference and have urged immediate consideration of the American proposals on the merits of the latter which are admittedly superior to the Anglo-Persian’s proposals. It is difficult to form an opinion of the real sentiments of the Prime Minister and his colleagues, but great pressure and the desire for support are the apparent reasons for the present political advantage of the British. The President of the National Assembly is reliably reported to have declared before the committee that if the concession were not granted the Anglo-Persian Company, Albania would lose territory in the south. The Minister of Italy has been categorically assured by the Prime Minister of satisfaction of the Italian demands for a concession, in any event.

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Grant-Smith