156. Telegram From the Embassy in Portugal to the Delegation at the North Atlantic Council Ministerial Meeting, at Paris 1
Tosec 1. Subject: Azores negotiations. Re Paris 24 repeated Department Secto 12.2 Stakes are so high I feel compelled to make one further point.
Although Cunha is now in possession of copy of your message I think it essential that you at least mention subject to him personally. Frankly if you and Cunha spend 6 days in Paris without your mentioning subject to him I feel sure that he and Salazar will [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] conclude your letter was pro forma message which need not be taken too seriously.
I do not mean by this that special meeting with Cunha need be set up to go into subject in detail. It should be enough for our purpose if you were to stop him in the hall, [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] and tell him we take really serious view of situation and are counting on him and Salazar to reconsider their position in light of world events.3
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 711.56353B/12–1256. Secret; Priority. Repeated to Washington as telegram 334. The source text is the copy in Department of State files.↩
- Secto 12 reported that the December 7 letter from Dulles had been left at the office of the Portuguese Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council. (Ibid., Conference Files: Lot 62 D 181, CF 821)↩
- Footnote [3 lines of text] not declassified.↩