124.60H/73: Telegram
The Minister to the Yugoslav Government in Exile (Biddle) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 24—8:45 p.m.]
Yugoslav Series [No.] 4. For the President, the Secretary and the Under Secretary. Your 2, August 15, 4 p.m.16 In conversation with King Peter, Prime Minister Jovanovitch and Foreign Minister Nintchitch, they joined in warmly expressing their sense of gratification over your proposal to raise our respective Legations to Embassies, [Page 809] and stated that they were heartily in accord therewith; they were deeply touched by this added mark of friendship for their country.
Nintchitch subsequently said he could tell me unofficially that the King and his Government had already approved my agrément and that the delay in replying officially to the request contained in your No. 2, August 15, 4 p.m., was due to disagreement which he termed “bargaining”, on part of certain factions in his Government in connection with the appointment of Fotitch as Ambassador. Existence of this opposition required a full Cabinet meeting which could not be called until August 26 due to current absence of two Ministers. He felt confident, however, he would overcome this opposition and greatly regretted that these circumstances were delaying his communication acceptance of my agrément which he wanted to couple with request for that of Fotitch.
In connection with the latter’s appointment, Vice Premier Krnjevitch (Croat) later divulged that as Fotitch had long represented a Pan-Serb policy he was still undecided as to what position to adopt in regard to Fotitch’s appointment. He, Krnjevitch, earnestly hoped that policy was ended for all time and had taken a strong stand in urging the Government to declare a forward looking policy of equality of rights but without positive results thus far. To vote approval now of Fotitch’s appointment would be inconsistent with this stand in that it would amount to endorsing all that the latter had stood for.
- Not printed.↩