811.20 Defense (M) Turkey/607: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom ( Winant ) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 3—5:31 p.m.]
3786. Department’s telegram 3407, May 29, 9 p.m. We discussed with Sargent30 yesterday afternoon the question of the possible discontinuance of preemptive purchasing in Turkey. He said that while he was not personally familiar with the question the decision reported in the Embassy’s 3595 May 25, 11 p.m., had not been reached on a “Ministerial level” and did not represent any formal change of British policy. There were, he said, no broad considerations of a political or strategic nature behind the proposed abandonment of preemptive buying. He called in the Foreign Office representative who had attended the meeting reported and the latter’s explanation of the reasons behind this decision was largely a repetition of the considerations advanced in the Embassy’s 3595. The British apparently feel that preemptive purchases which do not exceed Turkish allocations will do no injury to Germany and may irritate the Turks to the point of producing highly unfavorable reactions on the much more important chrome situation.
Sargent said, however, that the views of Knatchbull-Hugessen31 had been requested and as soon as the Ambassador gives his opinion with regard to the cessation of preemptive purchases Sargent will let us know. We gather that the Foreign Office will be largely guided by his views and it is the Embassy’s feeling that the situation is one which should be left to the discretion of our two Ambassadors at Ankara. Either preemptive buying by British or American agencies or both in excess of allocations will provoke the Turks to take counter measures which will adversely affect our chrome position and possibly other interests or it will not. Our two Ambassadors on the spot would seem to be in the best position to judge.