722.2315/1435
The Peruvian Ambassador (Freyre) to the Secretary of
State
Washington, April 10, 1941.
Your Excellency: In compliance with
instructions received from my Government, I have the honour to
enclose for Your Excellency’s information the Spanish text of a
message addressed by cable yesterday to the Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Ecuador by the Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, in
reply to the transcription received from the Ecuadorean Foreign
Minister of the Circular17 delivered by him
to the Foreign Offices of America.
Please accept [etc.]
[Enclosure—Translation]
The Peruvian Minister for Foreign
Affairs (Solf y
Muro) to the
Ecuadoran, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Tobar
Donoso)
To His Excellency, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ecuador,
Quito.
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency’s
cablegram of yesterday in which you inform me of the text of the
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telegram which you
have sent to the Ministries for Foreign Affairs of the American
Republics. I must express to Your Excellency the energetic
protest of my Government for the declaration contained in the
telegram to which reference is made that your Ministry requires
that it be given guarantees of good faith in the negotiations in
order to enter upon direct arrangements concerning our boundary
question. The phraseology used by Your Excellency is
inconsistent with the obligations of mutual respect between
states. If the act of Colombia and Venezuela is encouraging for
America, its merit consists in the constitution of a
manifestation of the cordial relations of the two Ministries and
the expression of the public spirit of the two peoples
maintained during their litigation in an atmosphere propitious
to a settlement and promising a favorable result. I regret that
this Ministry, which, despite the continual manifestations
against Peru produced in Ecuador has carefully undertaken to
institute friendly negotiations in a peaceful atmosphere, has
not received a response corresponding to its well intentioned
objective.
In manifesting to Your Excellency that the Ecuadoran Government
will find Peru always disposed to develop its relations with the
serenity necessary to a peaceful relationship, I take advantage
of this opportunity to reiterate the expressions of my highest
consideration.