740.00112 European War 1939/10896:
Telegram
The Ambassador in Turkey (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State
Ankara, May
26, 1944—11 p.m.
[Received May 28—11:20 a.m.]
961. Following is a translation of the draft agreement proposed by
the Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs this morning which embodies
certain changes proposed by the British and ourselves and accepted
by Numan:
- “1. For the duration of the war Turkey will continue
to prohibit the export of chrome ore to Germany and her
allies.
- “2. Commencing June 1, 1944 and for the duration of
the war and whatever may be the commercial arrangements
existing or to be concluded with Germany and her allies
Turkey will take steps to maintain the exportation to
those countries of the commodities enumerated in the
American note of April 14, 1944, at a level which in no
case will exceed 50% of the exports of each of the same
commodities to the aforementioned countries during the
year 1943; this annual amount shall be divided into 12
equal monthly quotas and only the quantities which have
not been used during the preceding months may be added
to the quotas for the following months.
- “3. The Turkish Government agrees that in all cases in
which the commodities which it proposes to order can,
other things being equal,
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be furnished both by the Allies
and the Axis, preference shall be given to the offers to
supply these commodities from Allied sources in order
that the total exports to the Axis of the commodities
mentioned in the British and American notes on the
subject may by this means be further reduced.
- “4. Since the reduction specified in Article II will
have an adverse effect on the supply to Turkey of the
commodities necessary for her economy, the British and
American Governments shall enter into negotiations with
the Turkish Government with a view to determining by
mutual agreement on the one hand the increase in the
exports of these two countries to Turkey in order to
compensate for the deficit in her imports and, on the
other hand, the increase in the purchases to be made in
Turkey in order to replace those purchases which would
have been made by the Axis in the normal course of
commercial transactions developed up to the present
time.
- “5. The Turkish Government will furnish in confidence
to the American and British Governments statistics
relating to commercial transactions with the Axis
countries.
- “6. The American, British and Turkish Governments
reserve the right to request at any time the opening of
new conversations on any question dealt with in the
present note.”