722.2315/756

The Peruvian Ambassador (Freyre) to the Secretary of State

Your Excellency: I am instructed by my Government to inform Your Excellency, as I hereby have the honour to do, that the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru offered the Government of Ecuador a written assurance to the effect that the forthcoming Conference at Rio de Janeiro between Peru and Colombia would not overstep the terms of the Salomon-Lozano treaty and consequently would not affect territories belonging to, or claimed by Ecuador. As no reply has thus far been received to this offer from the Government of Ecuador, due probably to the internal situation of the country, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru, wishing to prove the sincerity of our purpose on the eve of the said Conference at Rio de Janeiro, has addressed under this date a note to the Minister of Ecuador at Lima, ratifying his former assurance and formally inviting the Government of Ecuador to initiate at once direct negotiations, in conformity with the Ponce-Castro Protocol.

The Embassy of the United States at Lima presented, on June 3rd, 1933, a Memorandum to my Government transmitting the wishes of the Government of Ecuador to participate in the Conference at Rio de Janeiro. On the 24th of June my Government replied, stating the reasons wherefor they did not deem it juridically possible to seek a common agreement on a question which had been already partially settled by special and direct understandings, between Ecuador and Colombia, in 1916, and between Peru and Colombia, in 1922.

In view of the friendly concern thus shown by the Government of Your Excellency in the matter, my Government hasten to make Your Excellency acquainted with the step they have just taken to insure an amicable adjustment of the boundary question pending between Peru and Ecuador.

I have [etc.]

M. de Freyre y S.