740.00119 Council/8–246
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Director of the Office of European Affairs (Matthews)
| Participants: | Mr. Tsaldaris, Greek Prime Minister |
| Mr. Aghnides, Greek Ambassador to London | |
| The Secretary | |
| Mr. Matthews |
Mr. Tsaldaris asked for an appointment with the Secretary and immediately raised the question of Greek territorial claims against Albania.31 He said that the amendment which had been adopted by the Conference Commission on Rules of Procedure permitted the introduction of any question related to the treaties under discussion. He pointed out that Articles 21 and following of the Draft Treaty with Italy concerned Albania and therefore he felt that he could properly raise the question of Greek claims against Albania. He emphasized that Greece considers herself legally at war with Albania and in response to the Secretary’s questions said that this was based on official publication in the Albanian Gazette of a declaration of war and in similar action on the part of Greece.32 There followed some discussion as to the status of the then Albanian regime in view of Albania’s occupation by Italy dating from April 1939. Mr. Tsaldaris made much of some alleged Albanian official act in transferring the “Albanian crown” to the King of Italy and the formation of a [Page 102] “personal union” between the two countries. He said that he was not insistent upon any specific procedure but that he would like to get the Secretary’s views on how Greece should proceed to arrive at a settlement. He seemed to feel Greece, for internal political reasons, could not sign a treaty with Italy recognizing Albanian independence without getting some settlement of Greek war status with Albania. The Secretary said he saw no embarrassment to Greece in signing the Italian treaty. Mr. Tsaldaris referred in this connection to the recent Senate [Resolution in favor of the award of the Dodecanese to Greece and of Greek claims against Albania.33 The Secretary gave him some of the background with regard to the Resolution in question upon which he had been consulted. Mr. Tsaldaris said that Albania’s application for membership in the United Nations was pending and would probably be approved in September. He felt that this might prevent Greece from ever pressing its claims against that country which had invaded her since the Charter guaranteed the territorial integrity of all members.
In reply, the Secretary, with reference to this last point, read from the Charter Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article II and explained that while all members were obligated to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any State, they were in no way precluded from raising the issue of territorial adjustments by peaceful means. He further stated that the Charter was not designed to freeze the status quo. As to the presentation of Greek claims against Albania at the present Conference, the Secretary explained the fact that the Conference had been called specifically to deal with five specified treaties and that the Greek-Albanian Peace Treaty was not so specified. He reviewed his difficulties with the Soviet Government and lack of success in spite of all insistence in obtaining consideration of Austrian and German problems since the Potsdam and Moscow reports specified that the five satellite treaties should be considered first. He felt, therefore, that Greece would have little chance of having this Conference consider the Greek-Albanian treaty.
After some discussion Mr. Tsaldaris indicated his intention of proposing that this Conference adopt a resolution requesting the Council of Foreign Ministers to consider a Greek-Albanian Peace Treaty at an early date. The Secretary said that he would go along with this proposal.
[Page 103]The Greek Prime Minister then raised the question of Greek territorial claims against Bulgaria and asked what the Secretary’s views were. The Secretary said that he was entirely open-minded and would reach his conclusions only after hearing the arguments advanced. Mr. Tsaldaris said that his country’s claims—and he emphasized that on this and on the Albanian question all Greeks are united—were based on strategic consideration. They wanted the frontier moved to the mountain tops rather than retained in the valley in order to make Greek territory more defendable against any possible new invasion. The Secretary inquired as to the number of inhabitants in the territory the Greeks desired to transfer from Bulgaria to Greece and as to their racial character. Mr. Tsaldaris said that there were about 400,000 people involved, who were nomads, spending part of the time in the mountains and part in the valleys. In reply to the Secretary’s question he admitted that none of them were Greeks. The Secretary spoke of the general undesirability of mass transfer of populations from the social and humanitarian aspect but said that he would listen to the Greek claims with a completely open mind.
Mr. Tsaldaris then said that he hoped the Greco-Bulgarian frontier question would be referred to the Military Commission rather than to the Political and Territorial Commission since Greek claims are based entirely on military security consideration. The Secretary pointed out that the title of the Political Commission is “Political and Territorial” and that it would be difficult to refer to the Military Commission a possible transfer of territory. It might be possible, however, that observers from the Military Commission could sit in on the discussions.
A third question which Mr. Tsaldaris raised concerned reports in the American Press of Soviet activities in fortifying the Island of Saseno as well as other areas in Albania.34 Mr. Tsaldaris said that his own sources of information fully confirmed these reports and they were causing consideration anxiety in his country. He asked what the United States thought should be done about it. The Secretary said that he had seen the reports and that the question was one that required careful study and to which we are giving current consideration.
As to membership of Albania in the United Nations, the Secretary explained that this was bound up with the candidacy of other countries and that he would telegraph Washington to find out just what the present status of applications is and the outlook for United Nations decision in regard thereto.35
- For documentation on Greek territorial claims against Albania, see volume vii.↩
- Regarding the Greek contention that Albania was an ex-enemy state, see memorandum by Matthews of the Byrnes–Tsaldaris conversation of August 19 and footnote 25, p. 256.↩
- Senate Resolution 82, approved July 29, is as follows: “That it is the sense of the Senate that Northern Epirus (including Corytsa) and the 12 islands of the Aegean Sea, known as the Dodecanese Islands, where a strong Greek population predominates, should be awarded by the peace conference to Greece and become incorporated in the territory of Greece’(Congressional Record, vol. 92, pt. 8, p. 10336). See also telegram 76, May 8, 1946, to Tirana, vol. vi, p. 20.↩
- See telegram 467, July 25, from Rome, p. 16.↩
- For documentation concerning the membership of the United Nations, see volume i.↩