890D.01/509: Telegram

The Ambassador in Turkey (MacMurray) to the Secretary of State

152. The French Chargé has made the following statement on the situation in Syria to one of the editors of the semi-official Ulus:

“Many unfounded rumors acrimoniously circulated recently on the situation in Syria. I should regret very much if these rumors should cause any doubt in Turkish opinion as to the firm intention of the French Government scrupulously to fulfill its mission in these countries under mandate. I am moreover in a position to point out to you: (1) that contrary to what has been insinuated, the Franco-Italian armistice convention20a contains no secret clause concerning Syria; (2) that the French High Commission contemplates no abandonment of its military positions in the Levant which could jeopardize the internal or external security of the countries under mandate; (3) that no foreign influence is being exercised on the political activity of the French High Commission at Beirut. Since I have the pleasure of speaking to a Turkish journalist, permit me to add that France, deeply grateful for the sympathy which the Turkish nation has shown in its misfortunes, is firmly resolved to omit no effort in order that the friendly and confident character of Turco-Syrian relations may be maintained.”

Repeated to Beirut.

MacMurray
  1. Signed June 24, 1940; for text, see Documents on American Foreign Relations, July 1939–June 1940, p. 436.