Office of the Historian

767.68119/10–546: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Chargé in Turkey (Bursley)98

secret
us urgent
Washington, October 8, 1946—7 p.m.

685. Note to Sovgovt as summarized Deptel 684 Oct 5 being telegraphed Moscow today will probably be presented tomorrow. Inform Turk Govt in confidence of our action and of substance of note. Turks will receive full text in few days when it is given all Montreux signatories. It will then be released to press.

We should like also give press text Turkish reply Soviet note Sep 24 unless Turks object its publication. (Dept feels publication advisable to counteract effect on public opinion of superficially plausible arguments put forward in Soviet note.) Please ask Turk Govt let us have full final text soon as possible and inform us when it will be released in Turkey.99

You may tell Turks that on basis summary transmitted urtel 10781 Dept has no comment to make on their draft reply Soviet note Sep 24 other than to note with approval what appears from summary to be its non-provocative and temperate tone. As far as we can judge it seems to cover situation satisfactorily.

Acheson
  1. The substance of this telegram was sent to Secretary Byrnes in telegram 5380 (Secdel 1077), October 8, 8 p.m., to Paris.↩
  2. Telegram 1086, October 8, 9 p.m., from Ankara, reported that the Turkish note probably would be released on October 18 or 19 (767.68119/10–846).↩
  3. See footnote 92, p. 873.↩