860H.00/6–949: Telegram
The Ambassador in Yugoslavia (Cannon) to the Secretary of State
577. Had more than two hours with Kardelj2 and Bebler3 yesterday reviewing internal and external affairs. Kardelj’s chief points:
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Greece: With rebels now hostile to Yugoslavia material aid is not going over. I pressed him hard for more details. What about logistical advantages? Harboring, re-outfitting and returning escaped rebels? Perhaps individual frontier authorities are still doing more than Belgrade intends? He did not deny aid in past but “now it’s all different.” I found this part not very forthright. He seemed unhappy and sick of Greek involvement and rather lamely said “perhaps something ‘will come of Gromyko’s proposal.” He did not refer to last week’s charge that GNA had air strafed Yugoslav village even though in order to prod him I led close to it. I made a little speech about contradiction in our disposition to aid Yugoslavia when Yugoslavia works against Greek independence. He said “but we have no friends there any more” and started talking about Hungary again. He made no mention whatever of Macedonia (which as already reported Yugoslavia thinks it has in hand).4 …
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- For full text of this telegram, see vol. v, p. 896.↩
- Edvard Kardelj, Yugoslav Minister for Foreign Affairs; member of the Politburo of the Yugoslav Communist Party.↩
- Aleš Bebler, Yugoslav Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs.↩
- According to a June 14, 1949, entry in his diary, New York Times chief foreign correspondent Cyrus L. Sulzberger was shown a copy of this telegram by Ambassador Cannon in Paris (Cyrus L. Sulzberger, A Long Row of handles: Memoirs and Diaries 1934–1954 (The Macmillan Company, 1969), p. 448.) During a call at the Department of State on June 16, Greek Ambassador Dendramis was apprised of the substance of the Greek portion of this telegram. On June 22 Greek Minister Counselor Economou-Gouras called at the Department of State to express the great appreciation of the Greek Foreign Ministry for Ambassador Cannon’s action in speaking with Kardelj and Bebler of the question of Yugoslav aid to the Greek guerrillas (memorandum of conversation by Cromie, June 22: 868.00/6–2249).↩