852.01/411: Telegram
The Counselor of Embassy in Spain (Thurston) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 3—8:55 a.m.]
1117. An official statement by the Ministry of State published in today’s newspaper announces the recall of the Spanish Ambassador and staff from Brussels in view of the assignment of a Belgian commercial [Page 259] agent to “rebel territory”. The statement points out that the decision of the “Belgian Prime Minister” was taken just as the Spanish Government was repatriating foreign volunteers and at the time “savage attacks on open cities were arousing horror and universal condemnation.”
The Belgian Chargé d’Affaires in Spain has been recalled and will leave for France tomorrow.