851V.01/8
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
The British Ambassador56 called to see me this morning at his request.
I read to the Ambassador Mr. Timberlake’s telegram of December 9 reporting on his trip to Djibouti. The Ambassador laughed at the portion of the telegram which reported that General Platt, who had at first so vigorously protested against Mr. Timberlake going to Djibouti, was now asking Mr. Timberlake to undertake [Page 605] negotiations to get the French in that colony on the side of the United Nations. He apologized again for the thoroughly unnecessary trouble which his Government had caused the Department in this connection. I told the Ambassador that Mr. Timberlake would be instructed to hold the suggested conference in Aden and that we would then subsequently determine what action, if any, he should further undertake.
- Viscount Halifax.↩