767.68/378a: Circular Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain (Harvey)
In answer to an inquiry1 at the Department of State today with respect to the attitude of the Government of the United States toward the proposals made by the Allies to the Turkish Nationalist authorities, I declined to comment upon the territorial questions involved, but stated unequivocally the approval by this Government of the proposal to insure the freedom of the Straits and protection of racial and religious minorities. My statement was as follows:
“The American Government is gratified to observe that the proposal of the three Allied Governments seeks to insure effectively ‘the liberty of the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmora and the Bosphorus as well as protection of racial and religious minorities’. These points of the proposal are clearly in accord with American sentiment.
This Government also trusts that suitable arrangements may be agreed upon in the interest of peace to preserve the freedom of the Straits pending the conference to conclude a final treaty of peace between Turkey, Greece and the Allies.”
Repeat to Paris, Rome and Constantinople.
- During an interview by the press.↩