811.20 Defense (M) Turkey/985: Telegram
The Ambassador in Turkey (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 16—9:38 p.m.]
681. In my conversation with Foreign Minister yesterday I again took up with him the matter of deliveries of chrome to Germany. After full discussion of subject, Numan agreed to immediately reduce deliveries to Germany to 4,000 tons per month as against following deliveries: November 5180; December 6926; January 11294; February 6752. He also agreed to immediately increase to 9,000 [Page 827] tons monthly deliveries to accessible ports for British account. He said that 4,000 tons monthly for German account would be maximum and that if German deliveries to Turkey of vitally needed commodities declined as now seem highly probable he would reduce deliveries of chrome to Germany below 4,000 tons monthly and that any reduction below 4,000 tons monthly to Germany would be added to 9,000 tons to be delivered for British account.
At close of our talk Numan remarked that during past week he had received almost daily visits from von Papen23 demanding explanation as to why locomotives and freight cars furnished by Germany to move chrome for German account were no longer being used to their full capacity for this purpose and why deliveries of chrome to Germany had recently been reduced by 50 per cent notwithstanding fact that compensating deliveries of German commodities, including war material, had been received in Turkey a long time ago. Numan remarked that as long as rail communication between Turkey and Germany was functioning it would become increasingly difficult for him to give von Papen a satisfactory answer.
- Franz von Papen, German Ambassador in Turkey.↩