840.50 UNRRA/5–1445: Airgram

The Ambassador in Greece (MacVeagh) to the Secretary of State

A–184. The following may be of interest to the Department in connection with its telegram No. 385 of May 11, 8 p.m., concerning the desired relationship between this Embassy and UNRRA.

At the close of the Military Period, during which mutually satisfactory relations on a purely informal basis had been enjoyed with UNRRA under Mr. Archer’s direction, I was requested by his successor, Mr. Maben, on March 31st, to allow representatives of this Embassy to give assistance to UNRRA “similar” to that which they had been giving to ML, which was a joint agency of the British and American Governments. In reply, on April 1, and in view of the Department’s caveat against treating an international organization “on the same basis as in the case of another agency of our Government” (see the Department’s Airgram No. A–15 of March 11, 194431), I advised [Page 219] Mr. Maben that this Embassy could not presume to offer UNRRA any “official advice”, but I added that it would “always be at the service of UNRRA for informal discussions and exchange of views, and that on this basis I and my advisers would be glad to continue to see and talk with UNRRA officials at any time, as we have, under the Department’s instructions, in the past”.

No direct answer was received to my letter to Mr. Maben, but I am now informed that UNRRA is holding “informal discussions”, which may represent the “informal committee” to which the Department refers, and the first meeting to which members of this Embassy have; been invited will take place this Saturday, May 19, and will be attended by them. The meetings so far have included British advisers but, as I understand it, no Greeks. In the formal “advisory committees” set up by the Greek Government with both UNRRA and British Embassy membership (see Report No. 74 of May 1032 entitled “UNRRA advisory committees in Greece”) this Embassy is not participating.

MacVeagh
  1. Not printed; it set forth the Department’s views as to “the relationship between the United States Government and the diplomatic missions on the one hand and UNRRA and its field staff on the other”. The Ambassador was informed that “while the Department maintains, and wishes the missions to maintain, close working relationships with UNRRA and its personnel and to accord UNRRA all appropriate facilities, it should be constantly borne in mind that UNRRA is an international organization and that, therefore, it cannot be dealt with on the same basis as in the case of another agency of our Government. This applies likewise to American personnel of UNRRA. … The Department has also noted that in certain recent communications from Archer to Lehman, Archer may consider himself as working subject to your directions. This, of course, cannot be the case as the Department is most anxious to avoid any indication of United States domination of UNRRA, its personnel or its policies.” (840.50 UNRRA/320)
  2. Not printed.