852.00/6688: Telegram
The Chargé in France (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 14—5:32 p.m.]
1443. I was told at the Foreign Office this afternoon that the Council of Ministers this morning approved the decisions reached at the inter-ministerial meeting yesterday regarding the Spanish and Mediterranean problems. The Government here in full accord with the British Government has agreed as proposed in the Italian reply of October 9 that the question of withdrawal of volunteers from Spain should come up again before the London Committee. The Committee will meet either Saturday or Monday. The French and British Governments are in agreement that their representatives on the Committee shall make declarations at the meeting setting forth their point of view and making it clear that their Governments are opposed to further long drawn out discussion of the question of withdrawal of volunteers and that they desire to know exactly how each country represented on the Committee stands on this question. It is expected that Plymouth will fix a brief period say one week within which the position of each country should be definitely stated. The declarations made by the French and British representatives will also state that in the event of failure to reach agreement on this question both Governments will recover their freedom of action.
My informant said that after consultation between the two governments both had agreed “without any pressure from the British” that it would be impolitic to decline the Italian suggestion for a further hearing on this question in the London Committee. Both Governments are determined, however, to brook no further extended delay [Page 420] and in the event of failure to accomplish anything in the Committee within a short period both Governments will act together as regards the use to be made of their recovered freedom of action. (I might add parenthetically that I have had the distinct impression lately that while many members of the French Government would undoubtedly be glad to proceed forthwith in opening the frontier, Chautemps and Delbos and probably other Radical Socialist ministers independent of any influence exerted by the British have desired to go cautiously in this matter).
I remarked that it seemed as if the question of non-intervention in Spain might be treated separately from that of the protection of the vital interests of France and Britain in the Mediterranean. My informant said that at present the question of protecting vital interests in the Mediterranean could be summed up in the word “Minorca”. He said that the French Government believed that it had nothing to fear on this subject at the moment (presumably referring to the possibility of Italian occupation) and that the French and British Governments were consulting together on the question of Minorca with the utmost care.
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