840.51 Frozen Credits/755

The Rumanian Chargé (Coste) to the Secretary of State

No. 3631/P–3–II–3a

Sir: With reference to Your Excellency’s note of October 12, 1940,20 transmitting copies of Executive Order No. 8565 of October 10, 1940, I have the honor to inform you that I am instructed by my Government to protest in its behalf against the issuance of the above Executive Order, by which the provisions of Executive Order No. 8389 of April 10, 1940, as amended, are extended to Romania and Romanian nationals.

Considering that Executive Order No. 8565 does not contain any reasons for the measures ordered thereby, the Romanian Government is obliged to interpret it, in view of established precedents and of statements, apparently semi-official, which appeared in the American press on October 11, 1940, as a measure based on the assumption that Romania is an occupied country.

The Romanian Government is unable to admit such an assumption and declares most categorically that Romania is a free and independent country.

The sending of a German military mission accompanied by military units, for the purpose of instructing the Romanian army, had already been negotiated by the previous Romanian Government.

This action on the part of the then Government being found agreeable, the present Government continued these negotiations and is now carrying out the agreement reached. Therefore, and since numerous precedents are in existence, the Romanian Government can in no way concur with the view that the presence in Romania of this mission could be interpreted as a military occupation.

In behalf of my Government, therefore, I have the honor to ask for a reconsideration of the entire matter, leading to the rescinding of Executive Order No. 8565.

[Page 783]

Pending the favorable decision of the United States Government on this request, I have the honor to inform you of the urgent character of certain obligations, which my Government has to fulfill out of funds deposited with the Chase National Bank by the National Bank of Romania, and for which I request, on behalf of my Government, that the Treasury be good enough to free immediately the following necessary funds:

(a)
Two Million Seven Hundred Thirty Thousand Dollars for the payment of cotton imports from Iran, in fulfillment of an existing contract;
(b)
Seven Million Dollars for the import of raw materials from Turkey, in accordance with an agreement signed by the Bomanian and Turkish Governments in September 1940.
(c)
Four Hundred Thirty-Eight Thousand Dollars for the import of raw materials from Greece, in accordance with contracts now being executed.
(d)
Ninety-Five Thousand Dollars for salaries and expenses of Bomanian Legations in different countries during the current month.

Accept [etc.]

Brutus Coste
  1. Not printed.