852.01/148: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Bingham) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received November 19—3:55 p.m.]
545. In a conversation at the Foreign Office today reference was made to the fact that Germany and Italy were expected to recognize Franco as soon as he entered Madrid (see my 511, November 14 [4], 6 p.m.) but Foreign Office did not attempt to conceal that it was disturbed by the fact that in the given circumstances Germany and Italy had virtually made Franco’s cause their own. Foreign Office doubted whether they would leave the Non-intervention Committee and indicated that Germany in particular, in their opinion, did not really desire trouble with Russia at this time. It was emphasized that recent events had in no way changed the British attitude, that every effort would continue to be made to localize the conflict and certainly Great Britain had no intention of being drawn into a tug of war. Foreign Office believed that the French Government took the same view but added that if the non-intervention policy definitely disappeared it was difficult to say what the French would eventually do; the French Government’s complicated internal situation might necessitate action.
Foreign Office also said that it was far from sure when Franco would be able to enter Madrid, that there were even some indications that certain of his units might be in considerable danger, and that in any case it looked as though the war would drag on almost indefinitely. Although it was now difficult to see how it could be brought about, my informant personally thought the best ultimate solution for Spain was a loose federation of semi-autonomous states and in this connection mentioned that there were indications that one reason the Catalonians declared their independence was so that they might be in a position to negotiate if necessary some such settlement for themselves.