868.48/3263: Telegram
The Ambassador in Turkey (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 13—1:50 a.m.]
903. Department’s 424, September 3. While I appreciate the natural concern of the Greek War Relief Association at the possible imminent termination of food relief shipments from Turkey to Greece, I feel that it would be unwise for me to intervene in this matter with the Turkish authorities even informally at this time for the following reasons:
- 1.
- Notwithstanding the shortage of foodstuffs including dried vegetables for consumption in Turkey which has resulted in exhorbitant prices to the Turkish public, the Turkish authorities for humanitarian reasons have been more than generous in permitting the export to Greece of substantial quantities of foodstuffs. In this connection I desire to point out that the efforts made by the Turkish Government to ameliorate the appalling food conditions in Greece have not been limited to the foodstuffs shipped directly to Greece but have encompassed shipments to the Islands as well as the feeding of thousands of Greek refugees on Turkish soil.
- 2.
- As the Department is aware the Turkish Government has for some months past been endeavoring to obtain limited quantities of wheat from the United States and Great Britain in order to make good a domestic insufficiency. These efforts in so far as the United States is concerned have resulted in the promise of the delivery of a total of 15,000 tons of wheat over a period of months.43 At the same time great publicity has been given to the shipment to Greece of 15,000 tons of wheat monthly from Canada. The Turkish Government is therefore fully conscious of the provision of 15,000 tons of wheat monthly for Greece as against a total of 15,000 tons for Turkey from the United States over a period of months with no assurance of additional deliveries of wheat from the United States. Furthermore, during recent months the Turkish Government has encountered difficulties in obtaining adequate quantities of wheat for its immediate needs from the Middle East Supply Center, and although some shipments have been made they have been considerably less than the Turkish authorities deemed necessary.
- 3.
- There is at the present time an acute shortage of all foodstuffs throughout Turkey including dried vegetables. This is due in part to the fact that the harvest has not yet been made. Furthermore, the Government is struggling against a steady rise in the cost of all foodstuffs which has already resulted in the following prices per pound in dollars for staples: sugar, .37; fish, from .55 to 2.21; fruit, from .28 to .40; dried beans, .23; butter, 1.10; black bread, .07½ 40; milk per quart, .23.
- 4.
- I am informed by the British Commercial Counselor that the Minister of Commerce yesterday informed him in reply to representations [Page 778] similar to those requested of us that Turkey no longer has enough dried vegetables to feed its own army, and that in consequence the Turkish Government could not countenance further shipments of dried vegetables to Greece.
In view of the foregoing, I hesitate to make even informal representations to the Turkish authorities lest we lay ourselves open to a rebuff which might involve a request for assistance to Turkey in solving its own shortage of foodstuffs.
Repeated to London.