782.563/5–850

Memorandum by the Ambassador in Turkey (Wadsworth) to the Counselor of Embassy ( Perkins )1

confidential

Subject: Turkish Military Airfields Project; Reaction of Secretary General Akdur to our Note No. 2449 of May 4, 19502 and supplementary Aide-Mémoire3

When presenting the note and aide-mémoire, I explained:

1)
That the note, which had been sent me textually by the Department of State, would assure him that my Government was in full accord with his Government on the bases for undertaking the Turkish military airfields projects; and
2)
That the aide-mémoire would inform him of the first steps which, as the result of preliminary conversations had at the Ministry of National Defense, would be taken to proceed to the implementation of the project.

I would, I added, wish to ask, after he had read the two papers, his views as to the desirability of giving any publicity to the fact that the project was to be undertaken, if only by way of anticipatory rebuttal of possible adverse Soviet propaganda.

After reading the two papers, Mr. Akdur commented:

1)
That he was happy to receive the note which, with me, he considered as laying a mutually satisfactory basis for undertaking the project;
2)
That, with respect to the aide-mémoire, although he had not as yet received any information from the Ministry of National Defense,
a)
He could appreciate the desirability of setting up the projected liaison office,
b)
He could well understand that the American Engineering Group would operate, in fact, as a part of AMAT under [Page 1259] General McBride’s administrative control and, consequently enjoy the same treatment and privileges as the other military and (civilian members of the Mission,
c)
But he questioned the desirability of enumerating the four listed elements of such treatment and privileges.

There could, he added, be no doubt that, as a matter of practice, no objection to the enjoyment of such treatment and privileges by any members of the Mission or of this newly-associated group would be raised; but to so enumerate them in a formal communication would seem to raise the question as to whether the Ministry could properly recognize the existence of a formal legal basis therefor. Consequently, it would seem better to omit such enumeration.

I replied that I could understand his hesitancy and that, on other grounds too, I had tended to question the desirability of enumerating only four of the many privileges and facilities accorded members of our Military Mission as a matter of courtesy and practice. To do so might even suggest a restriction in the case of this new group. I would, therefore, be glad, on the basis of his informal comment, to delete the four enumerated points and to send him the aide-mémoire in such revised form.4

Mr. Akdur agreed.

Finally, on the subject of the desirability of giving any publicity to the fact that the project is to be undertaken, Mr. Akdur was quite definite in expressing the view that the least publicity given to any matter of this kind the better. We agreed that no local publicity would be given thereto unless circumstances should arise warranting reconsideration.

  1. Enclosure 2 to despatch 354, May 8, from Ankara.
  2. Ante, p. 1256.
  3. Supra.
  4. The revised form of the aide-mémoire of May 4 by the Embassy in Turkey (supra) apparently was drafted on May 5 but backdated to May 4 (copy in Ankara Embassy files, lot 57F72, 400 Defense-Turkey-Airfields 1950).