705.7565/2
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Adviser on Political Relations (Dunn)
Signor Giuseppe Cosmelli, Counselor of the Italian Embassy, came in this morning by appointment, and stated that he wished to inform me in a personal and highly confidential way that the Italian Embassy here had received instructions from its Government to take over the representation of Albanian interests in the United States. He said that the Ambassador had asked that our conversation be considered as entirely personal and confidential, as the Italian Embassy had not been instructed to discuss the matter with the American Government.
Mr. Cosmelli went on to say that they anticipated no difficulty whatever with regard to the Albanian Consulate at Boston, as the Consul in charge there was on very good terms with the Italians and they fully expected that he would turn over his offices without any difficulty whatever upon receiving instructions to that effect from Tirana. He said that he did not know what the attitude of the Albanian Consul [Page 417] General in New York would be, but that after sufficient time had elapsed for him to receive instructions from the Albanian Foreign Office, they would make an approach to him.
As far as concerned the Albanian Minister in Washington, Mr. Cosmelli recalled that Mr. Konitza had made certain declarations at the time of the Italian difficulties with Albania which might make it difficult for him to acquiesce in this new proposed arrangement. Mr. Cosmelli said, however, that the Embassy would take the matter up shortly with Mr. Konitza himself.
These were the only Albanian establishments in the United States, with the exception of the Albanian representation at the New York World’s Fair. The question of taking this over, as the Italian Embassy was instructed to, would be taken up with the Albanian Consul General in New York, who was also the Albanian Commissioner to the World’s Fair and had charge of the Albanian Pavilion there.
Mr. Cosmelli asked what would be the attitude of this Government with regard to the Italian representatives intervening with the local authorities or with this Government in matters relating to protection of Albanian citizens. I replied that this was a matter to which we would have to give careful consideration and a decision upon which could not be given until we had assembled all of the facts and developments with regard to the Italian relationship with Albania under the new form of organization which it was apparently now proposed to establish. I asked what it was expected would be the status of the foreign representatives in Tirana, and Mr. Cosmelli stated that on that point they had received no information.
I asked Mr. Cosmelli whether the Albanian Foreign Office, in instructing their representatives here to turn over their offices to the Italian representatives, would instruct the Albanian representatives to so inform the Department of State. Mr. Cosmelli replied that he had no specific information along these lines, but he hoped that the instructions to the Albanian representatives would include directions to inform the State Department of their orders.
Mr. Cosmelli then said that the Ambassador had asked him to say that they would appreciate it if they could be permitted to keep in touch with the Department on the developments in connection with their instructions as they went forward with their arrangements to take over the Albanian representations. I said that I would be very glad to have him keep in touch with us on this matter, and that he could let us know the results of their approaches to the different representatives as they made them.