865.014/10–1949: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Embassy in Italy
priority
niact
2594. Jessup has reported from New York a deep concern at the situation developing with respect to the Eritrean question which threatens to break down entire settlement of the Itcols question. He feels that the unreasonable Ital attitude is blocking any solution in view of their grip on the Latin American delegates. If you feel that there is any possibility of changing the Ital attitude, you should immediately make the strongest representations to Sforza. You could point out that in our considered view the threatened failure to reach agreement on Eritrea will probably entail failure to reach agreement on Somaliland and Libya. The resulting postponement would greatly decrease the chances of achieving any satisfaction for Italy.
You might also point out that his feeling that independence is preference of majority of UN is not in accord with our information (reurtel 3296, Oct. 19).1 We also recognize that there does not appear to be a majority in favor of our first solution, and it is for this reason and due to the great importance we attach to a speedy solution that we so strongly urge this compromise proposal.
Finally, you might point out that we do not wish in any way to depart from the position we have taken on the disposition of Ital Somaliland, but that in view of the assurances given us by the Ital that they would allow each territory to be disposed of on its merits rather than make a disposition of one territory conditional on their solution for another territory, we are most disturbed by the action of the caucus Latin-American reps in linking a solution on Libya with that of Somaliland.
- Not printed; it reported that Dunn had just seen Sforza and that Sforza felt that the majority of the United Nations preferred independence for Eritrea (865.014/10–1949).↩