740.0011 Mutual Guarantee (Locarno)/509
The Ambassador in Belgium (Morris) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 26.]
Sir:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Belgian delegation left Brussels for London on Thursday morning, March 12, to take part in preparatory conversations with the representatives of Great Britain, France and Italy, before the meeting of the League Council on Saturday, March 14.
As reported in my telegram No. 15, of March 13, 7 p.m.,97 Mr. van Langenhove, Secretary General of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign [Page 248] Affairs, in reply to an inquiry by the Embassy, outlined and summarized the position taken by the Belgian Prime Minister in the conversations with the representatives of Great Britain, France and Italy at Paris and London as follows:
- (1)
- Mr. van Zeeland pointed out that Belgium, as a small country with a long frontier bordering on Germany, suffers more than any other country from the denunciation by Germany of the Locarno Pact and the re-occupation of the Rhineland by German troops.
- (2)
- Mr. van Zeeland declared that Belgium is not a party to the Franco-Soviet Pact and has always carried out scrupulously its international obligations.
- (3)
- Belgium has not advocated and is not advocating sanctions against Germany.
- (4)
- Belgium is ready to participate in any collective action taken by the Locarno Powers (other than Germany) and particularly in any action taken by France and Great Britain.
- (5)
- Belgium has mediated between France and Great Britain and will continue to attempt to reconcile the British and French points of view so that a common Belgo-Franco-British agreement may be reached.
- (6)
- In the case of any new agreement made by the Locarno Powers with Germany, Belgium would insist that the loss suffered by Belgium in the matter of security as a result of the denunciation of the Locarno Pact be compensated.
- (7)
- Mr. van Langenhove concluded by saying that although there has been no basic change in the Belgian point of view at Paris and London, the conversations which up to date have taken place between the Locarno Powers have been solely of an exploratory nature.
On Saturday morning, March 14, Mr. Leghait, Secretary of Mr. van Langenhove, in reply to an inquiry by the Embassy, stated that Mr. van Langenhove had just received a telephone call from the Belgian delegation in London that at the request of the British and French delegations Mr. van Zeeland had on the previous day undertaken the task of reducing to writing the main points of the British and French positions with a view to reconciling them. See Embassy’s telegram No. 16, of March 14, 1 p.m.98
The Counselor of the French Embassy told a member of my staff (Mr. Sussdorff) on March 14 that he thought it was quite clear that the Belgian delegation is leaning over toward the British side and putting out such a great effort toward reconciling the British and French views in the hope that it may pull an Anglo-Belgian Genera] Staff agreement out of the fire as a reward for its work. In this connection, he recalled the fact that from about the end of 1920 to 1923, Belgium had endeavored to secure a General Staff agreement [Page 249] with Great Britain along the lines of the Franco-Belgian Military Agreement of 1920,99 but that Great Britain was not willing to accede to the Belgian request at that time. He believes, however, that England might now be willing to enter into such an agreement with Belgium in view of the fact that at the present time Belgium could be useful to England in the matter of air defense.
The Belgian press comment concerning Germany’s denunciation of the Locarno Pact and the re-occupation of the Rhineland, which is indicative of sentiment throughout the country, is contained in the Embassy’s despatch No. 755, of March 13, 1936.1
Respectfully yours,