890D.01/6–445
The French Ambassador (Bonnet) to President Truman 12
Mr. President: General de Gaulle, President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, has directed me to forward to you the following message, which was sent from Paris on June 1st, and which reached me only today on account of delay in its transmission:
“I understand the concern which you feel about the situation in Syria and in the whole of the Near East. I am convinced that the [Page 1136] worst factor of trouble is divergency between the great Powers concerned, a divergency which looks like rivalry, especially when it becomes public.
“I have learned that you had instructed your representatives in Syria and the Lebanon to recommend moderation to the Governments at Damas and Beyrouth. I thank you for this and hope that their advice will be heeded. The French Government has ordered its troops in the Levant to cease fire on May 31st and to stay on their positions in order to facilitate as much as possible a solution of appeasement. The situation, in my opinion, now can and must become easier. I wish that no de facto initiative taken on the spot by another side may lead to any serious deterioration.”
I beg you to accept [etc.]
- Transmitted to President Truman June 4, 1945.↩