811.20 Defense (M)/2660: Telegram
The Ambassador in Turkey (MacMurray) to the Secretary of State
Ankara, July 18, 1941—5
p.m.
[Received 9:22 p.m.]
[Received 9:22 p.m.]
261. Your 108, June 28. Exercising ahead of prescribed date their option under existing agreement to contract for next year’s entire supply of Turkish chrome, British are now negotiating for purchase and anticipate no difficulty.
- 2.
- Report which I understand has been broadcast to United States that Turks are proposing to sell chrome to Germany is understood to have been based at least in part upon statement of Swiss journalist whom there is reason to believe Germans are using.
- 3.
- In reply to inquiry of British Ambassador on this subject Numan Bey yesterday stated that German Embassy had not in fact mentioned chrome in connection with forthcoming negotiations for new barter arrangement (which he said incidentally are to be postponed until September when he has returned from expected operation); [Page 942] and then he had anticipated any such suggestion by informing Papen26 that that item must be excluded from discussions.
MacMurray
- Franz von Papen, German Ambassador in Turkey.↩