767.68119/9–2845: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State
[Received 4:20 p.m.]
10083. Following is text of communication received from Foreign Office regarding approach to Turks on Straits question.
“The State Department have informed His Majesty’s Ambassador at Washington that they have instructed the United States Ambassador in Turkey to inform the Turkish Government that the United States Govt do not intend to raise the question of the Montreux Convention at the Council of Foreign Ministers and that they favour a procedure under which each of the powers concerned would furnish their views direct to the Turkish Govt. The State Dept added that this is intended as interim reply to the Turkish Govt.
You may like to know that His Majesty’s representative in Turkey is being instructed also to return an interim reply to the Turkish Govt [Page 1252] which, after formally acknowledging receipt of their note, will assure them that the question of the Montreux Convention is engaging the attention of His Majesty’s Govt.
We consider it of great importance that before the United States Govt or His Majesty’s Govt return definitive replies to the Turkish Govt the two Govts should consult together to make sure that they are thinking on the same lines. I very much hope that you will agree with this, and if you think that your delegation to the Council of Foreign Ministers would care to have preliminary discussions here, we should be delighted to arrange this.”
This message had been brought to the attention of Delsec with particular reference to concluding paragraph.