852.00/4027: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Bullitt) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received December 8—3:20 p.m.]
1213. Delbos said to me this evening that he had already received replies from the Soviet Union, Germany and Italy with regard to the joint démarche of the French and British Governments. He had not received a reply from Portugal. The French Embassy in Washington had informed him that you had received most favorably the proposal that our Government should associate itself with the French and British proposal.
[Page 595]He stated that Litvinov had expressed a lukewarm personal approval of the proposal but had said that he would have to consult his Government. The replies from Germany and Italy had not been flatly negative; indeed they had been more favorable than expected.
Delbos asked me what I thought our Government would do. I replied that inasmuch as the President was on the high seas and for other reasons as well it seemed to me unlikely that our Government would wish to associate itself with the démarche.
Delbos said that he proposed to announce to the press the entire proposal and the answers that he had received within 2 or 3 days. He already had Eden’s acquiescence to this procedure.
I asked him if he felt there was the faintest chance that even if he received the acquiescence of all the powers to which he had addressed his proposal the fighting in Spain would stop.
He said that he would propose an immediate armistice and that he would then hope for the best.
With regard to the internal situation Delbos said that he felt the proposition of the Government had been strengthened rather than weakened by the attacks of the Communists. He made the surprising statement that Dimitrov, Secretary of the Third International, had visited Paris for 24 hours a few days ago and had participated personally in the preparation of the attacks of Thorez28 and Duclos29 on Blum.
I venture to doubt the accuracy of this statement.