890D.01/470
The Ambassador in France (Bullitt) to the Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs (Murray)
[Received March 17.]
Dear Mr. Murray: I acknowledge receipt of your letter of January 13, 1938, concerning Syria and the Lebanon.
Wilson has had this matter under discussion with Lagarde, the new Chief of the Africa–Levant section at the Foreign Office, who has succeeded de Saint Quentin.16 Our telegram No. 206, February 7, 6 P.M. informed you of Lagarde’s agreement “in principle” that the United States would have to be consulted regarding the termination or any modification of the mandate and that France should obtain a formal discharge of the obligations assumed towards the United States in the 1924 Convention. He also agreed that it would be desirable from the point of view of both Syria and the Lebanon to enter into treaty relations with the United States regarding the rights of American nationals in those territories, thus removing the legal right of the United States to insist upon the reestablishment of capitulatory privileges upon the termination of the mandate. He was of the opinion that the best way to deal with all these questions would be through the negotiation of tripartite conventions, one with Syria and the other with the Lebanon, along the lines of the Convention of 1930 between the United States, Great Britain and Iraq.
When Lagarde returns from Morocco on March 1, discussion of these points will be continued with him and, as stated in our telegram, I hope very much that it will be possible for you to furnish the Embassy with the draft of a tripartite convention which can serve as a basis for further discussion with the Foreign Office.
[Page 1012]In order that you may be fully informed, there is enclosed a copy of a memorandum of the conversation with Lagarde17 and a copy of an Aide-Mémoire sent to Lagarde at his request, setting out in detail our position in these matters.
Sincerely yours,