701.4184/61
The British Embassy to the Department of State
Aide-Mémoire
On December 21st His Majesty’s Ambassador at Rome communicated to the Italian Government the decision of His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom to withdraw the British Legation at Addis Ababa and to substitute for it a Consulate-General. At the same time he asked for assurances from the Italian Government that British consular officers in Abyssinia would be accorded all customary privileges including that of communicating freely (e. g. in cypher) with their government and with each other, consulate bags being exempted from customs and all other examination. This was agreed [Page 253] to. Sir Eric Drummond also asked that the new British Consulate-General at Addis Ababa and the Consulate at Harrar should continue to use their wireless sets for reception purposes. To this Count Ciano agreed, subject to a reservation of the Italian right to reexamine the question in the future, when for instance other questions relating to Abyssinia might be under discussion, or when improved conditions in the country justified such reconsideration.
Sir Eric Drummond explained that His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom had been proceeding on the assumption that exequaturs would be both necessary and desirable to confirm the status of the Consuls, and consequently they intended to apply to the Italian Government therefor, though on the distinct understanding that such action would not be interpreted as de jure recognition of the Italian annexation of Abyssinia. Count Ciano answered that he fully appreciated His Majesty’s Government’s reserve, and assured Sir Eric Drummond that the question of de jure recognition would not arise.
In adopting the view that the application for exequaturs would not involve de jure recognition of the Italian annexation of Abyssinia His Majesty’s Government were influenced (a) by the precedent of neutral consuls who, it is stated, during the German occupation of Belgium were granted exequaturs by the German Government without this presumably committing their government to anything more than recognition of the Germans as in de facto control of the country and (b) by the fact that in an unofficial conversation last July the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs told His Majesty’s Chargé d’Affaires at Rome that he could give an assurance that the reduction of the Legation would not be regarded by the Italian Government or press as involving recognition. Furthermore, with regard to the recent agreement between Italy and Japan, resulting in the reduction of the Japanese Legation at Addis Ababa to a Consulate-General, His Majesty’s Government’s latest information indicates, notwithstanding Italian press comment to the contrary, that this is not held by the Japanese to imply de jure recognition of the new Empire on the part of Japan. Finally when the Greek Minister at Rome recently communicated to the Italian Government the decision of the Greek Government to establish a Consulate-General at Addis Ababa, and asked for an exequatur for the Consul-General, the Italian Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs told him that “this action constituted a de facto recognition of Italian occupation”. Since then His Majesty’s Government have learnt that the Greek Government contemplate going one step further and recognising the Italian conquest of Abyssinia.
It is realised that the action which has now been taken by His Majesty’s Government involves de facto recognition of the Italian Government as the government of the parts of Abyssinia which they control, but this is no more than the recognition of facts which [Page 254] indisputably exist, and His Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs would be prepared to state both to the Italian Government and, if necessary, in the House of Commons, that such is the attitude of His Majesty’s Government. It is appreciated too that in practice the distinction between such recognition and de jure recognition is small, though for political reasons it may still be desirable to retain it.