724.3415/3340: Telegram (part air)
The Consul at Geneva (Gilbert) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 1—7:33 a.m.]
204. At the meeting of the Council held late yesterday afternoon36 the Chairman of the Council’s Committee reviewed the status of the [Page 361] Bolivia-Paraguay dispute as outlined in the latest communication from ABCP powers (Consulate’s telegram 196, September 25, 10 a.m.37) He expressed regret that “hostilities are continuing”. He declared that should the negotiations succeed within the next few days “real progress will have been achieved” but reminded the Council that “if, however, the efforts of the neighboring powers unhappily fail to produce the desired results it is clearly necessary that the action of the Council which has been suspended since August 3 should be resumed immediately; for the purposes of such action the cooperation of the adjacent states would be an element of the highest importance.”
The Paraguayan representative reaffirmed his country’s acceptance September 838 of ABCP proposal of August 25 and asserted Paraguay’s willingness to stop hostilities on the signature of an instrument of arbitration.
The Bolivian delegate stated that he would refrain from entering into a discussion inasmuch as the matter was being handled by the ABCP powers.