721.23/2191: Telegram
The Minister in Colombia (Whitehouse) to the Secretary of State
[Received 2:20 p.m.]
19. Minister for Foreign Affairs called at my house last evening to hand me a memorandum on the state of the negotiations at Rio de Janeiro.
Substance of the memorandum is that Colombia in February formally proposed to Perú agreements for, (1) customs union on the Amazon. (2) protection of the nations. (3) free navigation of the common rivers and their tributaries, and declared herself ready to study agreements for collaboration in the frontier regions and non-aggression.
This was never replied to by the Peruvian delegation.
In March the Peruvians formally proposed, (1) exchange of Leticia quadrilateral for the Sucumbios triangle, (2) protocol to apply article [Page 341] 9 of the 1922 treaty in accordance with the stipulations in the memorandum of the Peruvian Legation in Bogotá (presumably this refers to enclosure 3, the Legation’s despatch No. 4465, September 27, 193212). (3) after acceptance and termination of points 1 and 2 study of agreements similar to those mentioned in Colombian proposal.
This proposal was rejected by the Colombian delegation and withdrawn by the Peruvian.
The memorandum then gives Colombian motives for rejection. Am forwarding full text by air mail.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs further told me this memorandum had been drawn up to furnish information requested by the Brazilian Government.
- Not printed.↩