710.H Continental Solidarity/53: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Chargé in Brazil (Scotten)
139. Your 282, December 1, 1 p.m. Please inform Aranha that I am grateful for his message and that the Brazilian Ambassador here has already presented the situation very clearly to me. I am seeing the Ambassador again this afternoon to go into the matter more fully with him and I have already informed the Secretary of State by radio of the situation to which Aranha refers.
Since our position will be explained in detail to the Brazilian Ambassador here, it will be preferable for you not to discuss the matter at any great length with Aranha. For your confidential information, however, I may say that it seems to me that the most important objective to be sought at the Lima Conference is harmony and the demonstration of an identity of views and purposes on the part of all of the delegations. I consider that it would be disastrous for any open break to take place at the conference which would make public to the rest of the world any wide divergence of views between the American Republics at this moment. Furthermore, in as much as the Argentine Government appears to be disposed to cooperate effectively in providing for the implementation of the already existing consultation obligation, it would seem likely that very real progress along the line desired by Aranha can be made with the unanimous approval of all of the governments represented even if that progress does not go quite so far as the Brazilian and the United States Governments might desire.