751G.92/273: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 23—9:47 a.m.]
285. Embassy’s 284, February 23, noon.23 My French colleague at luncheon today told me that the demands of the Thai in the present negotiations are utterly preposterous and impossible of acceptance. The Japanese mediators had advanced compromise terms which the Ambassador states are still unacceptable. This morning he had an hour’s interview with the Minister who said that he would do his best to bring about a more reasonable solution. The Ambassador believes that [if] a number of Thai, who he says “have gone completely off their heads” and have been sending considerable bodies of troops across the Mekong River, can be persuaded to extend the period of armistice beyond February 25, it may be possible to find a reasonable basis of settlement.
The Ambassador therefore appealed to me to request the American Government with great urgency to counsel the Thai to moderation and to an extension of the armistice. I replied that I would bring the Ambassador’s appeal to the attention of my Government. I said that, of course, our Government would have to be guided by broad considerations which might not be apparent to us here but that if anything could be done I believed it would be more likely to take the form of counseling moderation on both sides than a unilateral step. The Ambassador said that he fully appreciated this consideration.
Sent to the Department, repeated to Bangkok.
- Not printed.↩