867N.01/12–246
The British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Bevin) to the Secretary of State
Dear James: Thank you for your letter of December 2nd about the Palestine Conference.
I am very pleased to have the opportunity of assuring you that all proposals made by the Arab, Jewish and British Delegations at the Conference will be given equal status on the Conference Agenda. His Majesty’s Government do not regard themselves as committed in advance to their own proposals. Nor, of course, are they prepared to commit themselves in advance to any other proposals.
His Majesty’s Government will be ready to consider every possibility of reaching an agreed settlement, and will study most carefully all suggestions submitted to the Conference.2
Yours sincerely,
- On December 7, the Department released a statement by Secretary Byrnes announcing that he had had several conferences in New York with Mr. Bevin about the Palestine situation. Mr. Byrnes stated that “In September His Majesty’s Government invited the United States to send an observer to the conference. At that time we could not see our way clear to accept the invitation. Mr. Bevin has orally renewed the invitation of his Government and in view of the assurances contained in his letter [of December 2], the United States Government feels that the leaders of the Jews and Arabs should attend the conference. If they do, the United States will accept the invitation to have an observer at that conference.” For full text of Secretary Byrnes’ statement, see Department of State Bulletin, December 15, 1946, p. 1105.↩