740.00119 Council/9–1845: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of State, at London
8121. Secdel 73. Although specific Greek claims against Italy have already been submitted to the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Greek Ambassador80 reiterated to me in a call September 17 his Government’s view that, in principle, Greece richly deserves some reparations from Italy. The Ambassador said that despite the unstable Italian economic situation, Greek needs are sufficiently pressing to warrant the granting of certain Italian produce and merchant shipping, and his Government felt this should be possible without upsetting the Italian economy. I emphasized the critical state of the situation in Italy and the danger of a complete breakdown if substantial amounts of goods were to be removed for reparations.
The Greek Ambassador informed me regretfully, though unofficially, of his imminent departure from Washington to become Director General in the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Cimon P. Diamantopoulos.↩