500.A15a3/1074: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Edge) to the Secretary of State
[Received 1:03 p.m.]
281. The conversations which have been going on between Massigli and Rosso have now terminated, and yesterday Massigli left for Geneva. I learned that there was nothing definite accomplished as it was found impossible to surmount above all the essential obstacle presented, namely, Italy’s insistence upon parity and France’s inability to concede it.
The respective Governments gave carte blanche to Massigli and Rosso to talk freely and on a purely personal basis without fear of committing their Governments with a view to discovering, if possible, some formula whereby each, so to speak, would “save face”. No such double-sided formula, however, has thus far appeared in the discussions and while it is still hoped that the conversations may possibly solve the difficulty, there is little optimism that much progress can be made either along this line or with regard to military or air questions, which both France and Italy assert to be intimately bound up with the naval.
Repeated to Embassies in London and Rome.