856E.01/6–347: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Netherlands (Baruch) to the Secretary of State
us urgent
361. Foreign Minister summoned me to his office and reported the following:
Vredenburch, as already reported our telegram 355, June 2,98 had been in London all day conferring with British Foreign Office substantially as communicated in this reference; he would be instructed to proceed to Washington in the absence of any unfavorable reaction from our State Department; and he explained further the contents of memo handed me which will be summarized in later message.
Reported that finally Dutch officials had reached Djokjakarata, Republican capital, with not entirely unfavorable impressions. He appears more hopeful but not sanguine that results will follow. He expressed the strong hope that if our Government could see eye to eye with Dutch Government on reasonableness of offers now already transmitted to Republican Government on May 27 our Government might be inclined to express to Republican Government the idea that Dutch proposals were reasonable, in good faith, and contain suggestions which if carried out would be equitable and fair to both sides and much facilitate resumption trade and feeding of Indonesian population by their own resources. He even suggested that our Consul General Foote, if our Government saw fit so to do, could produce most favorable results by a visit to Republican Government capital and suggest such thoughts to the Indonesian leaders as might produce some reasonable results in breaking up the now existing impasse.
Vredenburch will probably arrive either Wednesday or Thursday under instruction to speak frankly and fully and explain this and matter of memo and note of May 27 in complete detail.
While Foreign Minister did not say so, I believe he had similar conversation with British Embassy yesterday.
Sent Department as 361; repeated London as 31.
- Not printed.↩