890D.01/11–645: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom ( Winant ) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 6—11:50 a.m.]
11624. Embassy’s 11483, November 2;77 repeated to Paris as 710, November 2. Assistant Under-Secretary Howe tells us that Foreign Office proposal on points in French paper covering general relations of British and French in Near East, on which Foreign Office felt agreement might be reached, has been considered by Bidault. Bidault’s reaction is favorable. Final word, however, rests with de Gaulle who now has proposal under consideration.
Howe expressed Foreign Office hope that French approval would be given at an early date so that withdrawal of troops from Levant States would be undertaken without much further delay. In Syria particularly, he added, restiveness over continued presence of French troops had of late increased. In this connection, Howe called attention to a statement made by the Syrian Prime Minister at a press [Page 1173] conference about a week ago that negotiations with the French would not be undertaken by Syrians until French troops had been withdrawn and normal diplomatic representation had been established.
Sent Dept as 11624, repeated Paris as 717.
- Not printed, but for summary, see footnote 76, above.↩