875.01/1–1245
The Department of State to the British Embassy 33
Memorandum
The British Embassy’s aide-mémoire dated January 12, 1945, expressed the concurrence of the British Government in the views outlined by the Department of State in its memorandum of November 21, 1944, namely that recognition of the “Provisional Government” of Albania should not be granted at the present time and that, whereas it may be expedient at some early date to establish de facto relations with the existing authorities in the country, de jure recognition could be accorded an Albania government only upon its fulfillment of certain essential conditions.
The Embassy’s aide-mémoire also states that the British Government has decided to accredit a military mission to the headquarters of the F.N.C. for the period prior to the recognition of a government in Albania, and inquires regarding any plans the Department may have for maintaining contact with the F.N.C. during this interim period.
[Page 9]The Department believes that it will be desirable to send to Albania an official American representative with the personal rank of Minister at such time as it may have been determined that conditions are appropriate to the establishment of relations on a de facto basis with the authorities in control, leaving the question of de jure recognition for later consideration as circumstances may warrant. In the meantime, the Department is considering the desirability of sending representatives into Albania on an entirely informal and unofficial basis to survey the political situation and conditions generally with a view to determining the time when and the conditions under which its representatives might be officially established in Tirana.
The Department will inform the Embassy of any further arrangements it may make in this regard.
- The views set forth in this memorandum were transmitted to Mr. Kirk at Caserta in telegram 72, January 27.↩