722.2315/1120
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
The Ambassador of Peru called to see me this morning.
The Ambassador reminded me of the informal conversation which I had had with him and with Dr. Tudela at the Peruvian Embassy some two weeks ago with regard to the Peruvian-Ecuadoran boundary dispute. During the course of that conversation I had made a suggestion as to a possible basis for a preliminary arbitration of some of the main issues involved in the controversy. The Ambassador said that he had immediately cabled his Foreign Minister, Dr. Concha, after our conversation and had later supplemented his cable with an air mail despatch. He said that he had now received a telegram and also two despatches from Dr. Concha telling him that the suggestions made were receiving the immediate attention of the Peruvian Government. The Ambassador told me that under the system which is traditional with the Peruvian Foreign Office no important decisions in matters of this type are undertaken by any Peruvian Government until they have been passed upon by the Advisory Council on Foreign Relations which is composed largely of former Peruvian foreign ministers and of eminent international lawyers. It appears that Dr. Concha had submitted these suggestions to this Advisory Council which in turn had submitted them to a subcommittee of the Council. Dr. Concha had given the Ambassador to understand that he himself was very emphatically in favor of the suggestions proffered and that apparently the subcommittee in its majority was likewise in favor of the suggestions with the exception of one member who, for political reasons the Ambassador thought, was opposing the acceptance of the suggestions.
[Page 224]The Ambassador said that from the tone of the latest communication from Dr. Concha he felt very optimistic and thought that the probability was that the Peruvian Government would agree with the suggestions made and would probably make certain amendments or additions to the suggestion. This, the Ambassador said, was always the case in matters of this kind and he only trusted that they would not slow up an agreement with Ecuador on the basis proposed.
The Ambassador asked me if I could tell him whether the suggestions proffered would be accepted by Ecuador. I said that of course on that point I could make no commitment other than to tell him that the chairman of the Ecuadoran delegation was heartily in favor of the suggestions and that I could only assume that he would not indicate such an opinion unless he had reason to believe that his own Government would support him in such position.
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