840.00/7–2648
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Lovett)
| Participants: | The Under Secretary, Mr. Lovett |
| The Italian Ambassador, Mr. Tarchiani | |
| Mr. Harry H. Schwartz, AF |
During the course of a call on another subject, the Ambassador took the opportunity to express the concern of his government that Italy had not been invited to join the Western Union. He showed no inclination to accept my statement that his government should address itself to members of the Western Union rather than to the U.S. and set forth the following line of reasoning. Italy finds herself in a position of an open door between Western Union on one side and Greece and Turkey on the other. It is to the interest of the United States as well as Italy that this door be closed, particularly as there are American forces in the potentially explosive Free Stale of Trieste. It would not seem worthwhile to build up Italy economically and not take appropriate steps to prevent her from being overrun by the Soviets. The Western Union powers look to the United States for guidance on military matters and would readily accept an American suggestion [Page 201] that Italy be associated with them. The United States is the key to the defense of Europe and the association in question is not so much one of a European as it is of an “Atlantic” community. Consequently, the United States has every right to express the American viewpoint on matters which affect American security.
I reiterated that while I was interested in receiving the Ambassador’s views on this subject, I could only suggest that his government address itself to the Western Union powders who had grouped themselves together voluntarily and on their own initiative for mutual assistance and security; that the United States operated on the basis of the Vandenberg resolution, and that this country could consider Italy in this regard only when and if the Western Union powers brought up the subject. During the course of the conversation I also pointed out to Mr. Tarchiani that American forces were in Trieste for a definite purpose and not for an indefinite period. When Mr. Tarchiani finally said that he hoped this government would take a position favorable to Italy at such time as the Western Union powers broached the subject to us, I replied that that was a matter which we would have to consider at the appropriate time.