800.51W89 Italy/218
The Italian Ambassador (Rosso) to the Acting Secretary of State
Sir: With reference to your Note of the 9th of this month, concerning the amounts due on June 15th by the Italian Government to the Government of the United States in accordance with the debt agreement of November 14th, 1925, I have been instructed to inform you that on June 13th the Fascist Great Council has passed the following Resolution:
“In view of the payment due to the United States on June 15th and of the opening of the Economic Conference in London, the Fascist Great Council decides that a payment of one million dollars shall be made in order to show the goodwill of the Italian Government and at the same time the limitations imposed upon it by the existing situation. The Council invites the Minister of Foreign Affairs to start negotiations for the final solution of this problem before the payment of next December falls due as provided by the existing debt agreement”.
I am also instructed to inform you that, in accordance with the above Resolution and in view of the representations already made by Finance Minister Signor Jung during his recent visit to Washington in regard to Italy’s capacity to pay,14 the Italian Government propose to make an immediate payment of one million dollars as an acknowledgment of the debt pending a final settlement and that they would be glad to enter upon negotiations for such a final settlement of the war debt question at the earliest date convenient to the Government of the United States.
Accept [etc.]
- During the April and May conversations preliminary to the Monetary and Economic Conference, the subject of intergovernmental debts was the one topic not handled by the Department of State.↩