875.48/1–1645: Telegram
Mr. Alexander C. Kirk, Political Adviser to the Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theater, to the Secretary of State
[Received January 17—2:37 p.m.]
176. Hoxha has balked at ML25 plan and refused relief on any other basis than accepting supplies shipside with a minimum number of observers. ML representatives will stay in Tirana a few days longer on hope that Hoxha’s more mature advisers may reverse his present unalterable decision. There is slight hope of this.
Macmillan26 stated last evening that he had recommended to Foreign Office that Hoxha should not be pressed on question of relief or any other matter for the time being, that it would be preferable to wait until some agreement had been made with Tito27 on relief (see my number 72 of January 8, midnight28) and that Hoxha would take his cue from Tito. Macmillan also said he had informed Foreign Office [Page 7] that he saw no good reason to push relief on the Albanians as such supplies could be used to good advantage elsewhere, and it would be best to not show any particular interest about getting relief into Albania quickly as sooner or later Hoxha would come around.
In meantime Albanian people, many of whom have greatly suffered during eviction of Germans from their country, will get no relief. Department is, of course, aware that a small relief ship was sent recently to Split in Yugoslavia on an ad hoc basis (see my No. 83, January 929).
I would appreciate Department’s comments.
- Military Liaison (Albania), a British-American military establishment charged with planning and administering civilian relief in liberated Albania.↩
- Harold Macmillan, Member of Parliament, British Minister Resident at Allied Force Headquarters, Mediterranean Theater, and Acting President of the Allied Commission, Italy.↩
- Marshal Tito (Josip Broz), Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense in the Provisional Government of Yugoslavia.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Not printed.↩