765.84/3954: Telegram
The Minister Resident in Ethiopia (Engert) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 30, 1936—5:11 p.m.]
166. My 161, March 18, noon.6 It is rumored that Rickett7 has been requested by Mussolini to sound the Ethiopian Government regarding the possibility of direct peace negotiations.
In view of these rumors a communiqué was issued last night which concludes as follows:
“The Imperial Government reiterates that it does not intend to engage in any direct peace negotiations with Italy or with so-called unofficial representatives. It proposes to stop hostilities only after having made sure that the negotiations will take place within the framework of the League of Nations, and will respect the principles of the pact and of territorial integrity and political independence”.