Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, The Near East and Africa, Volume V

501.BC Greece/5–247: Telegram

Mr. Mark F. Ethridge to the Secretary of State

secret

Geneva, May 2, 1947—2 p. m.

214. Ethridge 52. I am circulating today following draft of Commission recommendations to Security Council.

1. It should establish Commission of Security Council with functions and authority as follows:

[Here follow seven lettered paragraphs.]

2. It should recommend to four governments concerned that they enter into agreed frontier regulations along lines of 1931 agreement between Greece and Bulgaria with view to providing effective machinery for regulation and control of their common frontiers.

3. It should recommend to Governments of Greece, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia that negotiations be commenced looking towards development of free port facilities in Salonika; and if such facilities are developed to authorize Commission to observe operations of port and to use its good offices to reconcile differences arising therefrom.

4. It should recommend to Government of Greece that it invite observation by international body created by Security Council of new amnesty for political prisoners and members of Greek guerrilla bands.¹

Sent Department 214, repeated Athens, Sofia, Belgrade, Moscow.

Department please repeat New York for Austin.

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Ethridge

]

1. The Greek Chargé, Paul Economou-Gouras, on May 8, advised the Assistant Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs (Jernegan) that the Greek Government objected to all four of Mr. Ethridge’s recommendations. His Government, the Chargé stated, took special exception to the fourth recommendation dealing with the amnesty question. He noted that the Greek Government would like to see the recommendation with regard to the transfer of the Slav-speaking minorities from Greece made compulsory and also opposed authorizing the permanent commission to observe the operations of the free port at Salonika or to attempt to reconcile differences arising out of those operations (memorandum of conversation by Mr. Jernegan, 501.BC Greece/5–847).