890D.01/12–1345
The First Secretary of the British Embassy
(Tandy) to the Director of the Office of Near Eastern and
African Affairs (Henderson)
Ref: 256/—/45
Washington, December 13,
1945.
Dear Mr. Henderson: I enclose herewith a copy
of a telegram from the Foreign Office to this Embassy, dated the 12th
December, containing the text of the following two documents.
- (a)
- an agreement between His Majesty’s Government and the French
Government concerning the evacuation of British and French troops
from the Levant States, and
- (b)
- a statement concerning the similarity of British and French aims
in the Middle East.82
It is not proposed at the moment to publish the above two documents and
the Syrian and Lebanese Governments have been requested to treat them as
confidential for the present.
Mr. Bevin is making a statement in the House of Commons announcing the
agreement of the French on this matter at about 3 p.m. Greenwich Mean
Time today, Thursday the 13th December. A communiqué to press is being
issued at the same time.
Yours very sincerely,
[Page 1181]
[Enclosure]
Paraphrase of Telegram From Foreign Office to
British Embassy, Washington, D. C, Dated the 12th December,
1945
Following is the text of a plan for the evacuation of British and
French troops from the Levant.
British and French Military experts will meet at Beirut on
December 21st to draw up the details of a programme for the
evacuation by stages with a corresponding regrouping of
forces.
The object of this parley will be to fix a very early date on
which the withdrawal will begin.
It is understood that the evacuation of Syria shall be carried
out pari passu in such a way as to be
completed at the same time by British and French forces.
The programme of evacuation will be drawn up in such a way that
it will ensure the maintenance in the Levant of sufficient
forces to guarantee security until such time as the U.N.O. has
decided on the organization of collective security in this
zone.
Until these arrangements have been carried out the French
Government will retain the forces regrouped in the Lebanon.
His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom and the French
Government will inform the Lebanese and Syrian Governments of
the details of the evacuation and will invite those Governments
to appoint as soon as possible representatives empowered to
discuss the dispositions to be jointly agreed upon as a result
of these decisions.
The discussions will also deal with measures to be taken in order
to enable the Syrian and Lebanese Governments to discharge their
duty of maintaining order.
Following is text of document regarding the similarity of British and
French aims in the Middle East,
The Provisional Government of the French Republic and His
Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom having examined the
situation in the Middle East declare that they are animated by
the same intention to do what is required of them to ensure that
the independence which has been promised to the countries in
question shall be assured and respected.
The two Governments are agreed that it is in their mutual
interest to promote in collaboration with the other Government
the economic well-being of the peoples of this region in
conditions of peace and security. They will exchange information
as may be required regarding the best means by which this object
may be attained. It is their desire that by such exchanges of
information they will be able to avoid divergencies of policy
which might impair their mutual interests. Each Government
affirms its intention of doing nothing to supplant the interests
or responsibilities of the other in the Middle East having full
regard to political status of the countries in question.
[Page 1182]
It is in this spirit that they will examine any proposals
submitted to the U.N.O. on the subject of collective
security.83
