765.84/84
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Phillips)
When the Italian Ambassador25 was here this morning I referred to the troubles in Ethiopia and asked the Ambassador whether, in his opinion, they were serious. He thought not; he said that there were very few Italian troops in the neighborhood of Ethiopia and that apparently there was no sign of sending troops from Italy and that, therefore, there could be no inclination on the part of the Italian Government to attempt a campaign in Ethiopia. Furthermore, he had the utmost confidence in his Chief, (Mussolini) and in Rosso’s opinion, which he believed would also be that of Mussolini, this was not the time to embark on any military adventures in view of the precarious European situation; he guessed that the British Government was active in Rome and in Addis Ababa in an effort to calm the situation.
- Augusto Rosso.↩