867.24/196
Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. George V. Allen of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs
| Participants: | Mr. Hayter, First Secretary, British Embassy |
| Sir Louis Beale, Chief, Allied Requirements Section, British Supply Council | |
| Mr. Tomkins, British Supply Council | |
| Mr. Graham, Mr. Kaufman, Mr. Rauh, Office of Lend-Lease Administration | |
| Mr. Edminster | |
| Mr. Blaisdell | |
| Mr. Winant, DE6 | |
| Mr. Murray, Mr. Alling, Mr. Allen |
Mr. Murray opened the discussion by informing the British representatives present that while the American Government desires, at least for the time being, to accede to the wishes of the British Government and to permit lend-lease material destined for Turkey to go [Page 919] through British hands, it naturally wished to assure itself that the materials which the British and American Governments agreed should be destined for Turkey actually got there, or, should it later be deemed by the British Government that changes in such original plan should be made, that this Government be given an opportunity to express its views before such changes are made effective.
In this connection, Mr. Murray made it clear that the British authorities have no option to withhold such material from Turkey without our consent, under our lend-lease law and procedure, and said that although there is no reason to believe that our desires will be any different from those of the British in case of emergency, we must insist on being consulted before material for Turkey is diverted. Mr. Murray said that in case of very grave emergency, the Department realized that the British authorities might be called upon to act immediately, but that in such case the American authorities would desire to be consulted at the earliest feasible moment thereafter.
Mr. Hayter and Sir Louis Beale said that the British Government would have no objection whatsoever to the procedure suggested under the reservation embodied therein concerning extreme emergency.
Mr. Murray asked the British authorities if they had any suggestions to offer regarding the best method by which the American Government might assure itself that materials intended for Turkey actually arrived in that country.
Mr. Hayter made no specific suggestions on this point, but read a copy of a telegram which the British Ambassador in Washington sent to his Foreign Office immediately following the previous discussion on this subject of October 24. The telegram reported that the State Department was disturbed regarding the failure of more supplies to reach Turkey and stressed the desirability of prompt British action in this regard. Mr. Murray said that officials of the Department and the Lend-Lease Administration had considered the question since the last discussion with the British and had certain specific suggestions to offer which might remove some of the difficulties which have been experienced with regard to lend-lease aid to Turkey. In the first place, he said that the Department contemplated notifying the Turkish Government, through the Turkish Embassy in Washington and the American Embassy in Ankara, whenever the American Government transferred articles to the British with authority to retransfer them to Turkey. Sir Louis Beale and Mr. Hayter said that their Government would have no objection whatsoever to this procedure.
Mr. Murray said that the State Department desired to be informed by the British authorities when supplies destined for Turkey actually left the United States, including the commodities concerned, the [Page 920] name of the vessel, the port of departure, the port of destination, and the approximate date of arrival. Mr. Tomkins said that he would be glad to furnish the Department with this information, and Sir Louis Beale and Mr. Hayter agreed that the British authorities would be glad to furnish the Department this information.
Mr. Murray said that the State Department desired to be informed by the British authorities when the vessels mentioned above reached the Near East, if this were practicable. The British representatives said that they would endeavor to do this.
Mr. Murray said that the American authorities desired also to propose to the British that cash-reimbursable lend-lease to Turkey be handled on requisitions made by the Turkish authorities and submitted direct to O. L. L. A.7 He said that this was a technical matter which Mr. Graham would be able to explain more fully.
Mr. Graham said that since Turkish officials are already dealing direct with the Lend-Lease Administration in matters of Turkish purchases for cash in the United States, it would be helpful to the Turkish authorities if they were permitted also to deal direct with the Administration in the class of Turkish cases known as “Cash-Reimbursable Purchases under Lend-Lease”. He explained that these cases concerned purchases which Turkey desired to make in the United States, but which could be obtained more readily, at a better price, and with better priorities, if the purchases were handled as lend-lease transactions, the Turkish authorities depositing a check in advance with the United States Treasury to pay for the articles to be purchased.
Sir Louis Beale said that he saw no objection to the arrangement whatsoever provided there were prior consultation and agreement with the British authorities before such Turkish purchases were approved. He said that he thought it most important for the American and British military authorities to agree on the advisability, from a military point of view, before Turkey was permitted to purchase commodities in the United States, even though Turkey might have the cash in hand with which to buy the commodities in question. He thought the possession of cash by the Turks was a relatively unimportant consideration. (In this connection, Mr. Tomkins said later that the amount of cash available to the Turks was very small indeed as compared with the amount of material the Turks needed. He said that lists of materials desired by the Turks which had already been approved in principle by the British authorities amounted to upwards of $400,000,000, and that the $2,000,000 or $3,000,000 in cash which the Turks had for purchasing military supplies in the United States was therefore almost negligible.) [Page 921] Sir Louis Beale proposed that there be consultation between the British and American military authorities at the earliest stage in connection with Turkish requests, and that once these authorities had agreed on items for Turkey, there should be no more difficulty, such as has been experienced in the past, when the military authorities, either British or American or both, had stepped in to defer Turkish requests.
Mr. Graham agreed that early consultation between the military authorities was very important, but he insisted that agreement between the American and British military authorities was not necessary with regard to cash Turkish purchases. He said that for instance, if the Turkish request to buy one thousand trucks in the United States, now pending, should be disapproved by the British military authorities but approved by the American military authorities, the American Government would reserve the right to make the decision. Sir Louis Beale accepted this clarification. Mr. Graham said that another point needed clarification. He thought the American Government should be informed of all Turkish requests for lend-lease material, and that if such requests were received by the British authorities in the United States they should be forwarded to the Lend-Lease Administration, even though the British authorities might not approve them. In the latter case, he said the requests could be accompanied by a memorandum from the British authorities giving their reasons for disapproval. He thought it important for the American Government to be informed of the requests in any case, since it was necessary for his office to make estimates for production needs in advance and that he could not make such estimates unless he had some idea of the potential requirements of the various countries here. Sir Louis Beale pointed out that this system of making known to O. L. L. A. all Turkish requisitions had already been informally instituted by Mr. Tomkins and that it would be continued as a regular procedure.
At the conclusion of the meeting, it was agreed that there were no longer any outstanding differences of opinion between the American and British authorities regarding lend-lease procedure for Turkey, and that the State Department would let the British have a statement of its understanding of the points agreed upon.