856d.00/2–2449: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Embassy in Belgium 1
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208. Dept believes that Spaak’s anxiety re financial aspects Benelux as result of Neth failure to settle Indo question fully justified and entails special effort on part Belgian Govt if consequences Neth intransigency are not to fall heavily upon Belgians. For this and other obvious reasons including importance successful Benelux union Dept trusts that Spaak will give Dutch partners benefit his advice to end that Neth Govt will go further than Beel proposal in offering basis prompt settlement. Specifically, we feel recent Dutch proposal lacks essential ingredient, namely, restoration Repub as governmental entity with some seat of authority, which is necessary (a) to meet essential position SC on this matter and (b) to enable Repub leaders to bring their followers into any federal Govt which round-table negotiations may evolve.
- Repeated 156 to The Hague, 110, Usgoc 305, to Batavia, and 6 to Luxembourg; in the latter, the directive named the Foreign Minister (Bech), referring to telegram 8, February 24 (not printed), with appropriate substitutions.↩