Editorial Note
On December 5, 1949, Turkish Ambassador Feridun Erkin called on Deputy Under Secretary of State Dean Rusk to inquire once again regarding the interrelationships which might obtain between the United States and Turkey as a result of the British-French-Turkish Treaty of Mutual Assistance of 1939 and the new defense arrangements between the United States, Britain, and France under the North Atlantic Treaty. Regarding the Ambassador’s earlier inquiries, see the memorandum of conversation by Jernegan, October 13, page 1682. Deputy Under Secretary Rusk explained the difficulties of the Department of State in arriving at a clear-cut juridical picture of the interlocking relationships of the United States around the world. Rusk could say no more than that the Department was continuing its studies of the question. For the moment it appeared to him that the adherence of Britain to the North Atlantic Treaty, taken in conjunction with the existing Anglo-French-Turkish Alliance, had a positive effect on Turkey’s security position. For the full text of Rusk’s memorandum of this conversation, see volume IV, page 359.