890D.01/473: Telegram
The Chargé in France ( Wilson ) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 8—2:10 p.m.]
564. Embassy’s 206, February 7, 6 p.m. Yesterday afternoon Barnes and I discussed treaty problem with Lagarde and Basdevant, Legal Adviser of Foreign Office.
[Page 1020]In a conversation on March 31 Lagarde had told me that Basdevant was not disposed to support him in his tentative acceptance on February 8 of our contention that France must obtain our assent to the termination of the mandate. When I replied by expressing surprise and reviewing the arguments in support our position Lagarde asked me to delay reporting on the subject until Basdevant had had time to go into the matter more carefully.
Yesterday’s conversation revealed that Basdevant has now definitely concluded that the French Government must in principle reject our contention. Lagarde who did most of the talking on the French side emphasized the point that the mandate provided specifically for a temporary regime designed to lead to the political independence of the territories in question and that France would find herself in a false, and possibly difficult, situation with respect to other countries having interests in Syria and the Lebanon if she were to accept at this time a contention which in principle was at variance with the temporary nature of the obligations assumed by her in the mandate.
He said, however, that disagreement between our two Governments on this point should not present any difficulties with respect to the practical problem of safeguarding American rights in Syria as the 1924 convention relates specifically to these rights and as article VI provides that these rights may not be modified without our assent. He explained that under these circumstances the French Government is prepared to enter into tripartite negotiations looking to the conclusion of conventions terminating the 1924 convention and to the conclusion of the other agreements envisaged in the Department’s instruction No. 734.
Lagarde was of the opinion that the most desirable procedure would be for us to submit simultaneously to the Foreign Office drafts of all the suggested agreements and that on the basis of these drafts the French Government, through the High Commissioner in Beirut, would enter into conversations with the Syrian and the Lebanese authorities. The tentative draft of conventions to replace the 1924 (enclosed with the Department’s mail instruction No. 734) was therefore not submitted for discussion.
While reserving our point of view with respect to termination of the mandate without our assent, I suggested that Lagarde’s statements be communicated to me in the form of an aide-mémoire, to which he readily agreed. He also promised to inform the Embassy fully at the same time with respect to the judicial safeguards envisaged in connection with the capitulations problem.
I emphasized also that even if we did take the practical course proposed by him we would be unable to consider France as released from her obligations under the 1924 agreement until all the treaties [Page 1021] envisaged had entered into force. Legarde said that he understood our position, that time was not a major factor, implying that independence may be delayed even beyond January 1, 1940, and that technical difficulties of a juridical nature relating to the ratification of such treaties as may be negotiated could be surmounted without too much difficulty once the parties concerned were in agreement as to the substance of the treaties.
In the event Lagarde’s promised aide-mémoire is satisfactory from a practical point of view and full information with respect to the question of juridical safeguards is forthcoming the Department may wish to supply the Embassy with tentative drafts covering the whole field of our future relations with Syria and the Lebanon. In view of this possibility and because of the difference in principle which has now developed, I shall take no further action on the basis of the Department’s 734 until receiving additional instructions. Lagarde’s aide-mémoire will be transmitted as soon as received.