865.01/2179: Telegram
The Chargé at Algiers (Chapin) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 12—1:05 a.m.]
796. From Reinhardt. The following comment has just been received from Reber with reference to my 774 March 9, 4 p.m.:
The Badoglio Government views with mixed feelings the decision of the Soviet Government to announce the establishment with it of diplomatic relations. The Italians could not even hesitate to accept this offer from one of the Allied Governments and it is clear that they hope it will be followed by a similar decision on the part of the Governments of the United States and Great Britain.
Although the announcement of this decision will no doubt temporarily strengthen the position of the Badoglio Government vis-à-vis the opposition parties, the underlying reasons for this move are evident. The Soviet Government anticipates that by thus taking the [Page 1042] initiative its influence among the Italian people, particularly the workers of the north, will become greater than that of the American and British Governments. The Soviet Government, recognizing that the general trend is towards the creation of a Left Government in Italy, would seem to be willing, in order to gain its own ends, to establish relations with the King’s Government in the knowledge that the latter cannot last and that such an initiative will already have increased its possibilities of influencing future political trends in Italy. The present position of the Soviet Government is a strong one, the limitations and restrictions imposed on the country by the requirements of the Allied Military Government are not attributed to the Russians, and such a gesture of friendship as the establishment of relations would tend to outweigh any temporary political inconvenience of maintaining relations with a government which may be unpopular.
In respect of the request for facilities for the Soviet Air Force, the consequences of which are difficult to assess, the Italian Government is concerned lest this request will eventually lead to the establishment of a more permanent form of air base on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. The Italians point to a newspaper report that Tito has offered the Russians similar facilities on the Dalmatian coast. The Italians fear that if these are maintained in the post-war period it will mean that Soviet aviation will control the entrances to the Adriatic.
Chapin