Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Western Europe, Volume VII, Part 2

322. Memorandum of Conversation⁰

March 23, 1960, 10 a.m.

SUBJECT

• Morocco

PARTICIPANTS

• U.S.
  • The Secretary
  • Ambassador John Davis Lodge
  • Mr. Ivan B. White, EUR
  • Mr. Robert H. McBride, WE
  • Mr. Raymond A. Valliere, WE
  • Mr. Fernando A. Van Reigersberg, L/S
• Spanish
  • Sr. Fernando Maria Castiella, Spanish Foreign Minister
  • Ambassador Jose M. de Areilza, Spanish Embassy
  • Sr. Jaime D. Pinies, Spanish Foreign Ministry

Foreign Minister Castiella expressed his deep appreciation for the magnificent reception accorded him and his party on their arrival in Washington.

The Foreign Minister referred to the conversation between President Eisenhower and General Franco last December¹ on the Protestant question and stated that he planned to raise it during his call on the President this morning.² The Secretary said the President would be pleased if the Foreign Minister brought up this matter.

The Foreign Minister then raised the matter of Morocco. He pointed to the friendly ties between Spain and Morocco and stated that Spain had tried to maintain very good relations with the country, both because it is a neighbor and because Spain desires to help maintain the King’s position. He said that the King was essential for stability in Morocco. [2–1/2 lines of source text not declassified] Noting that Morocco was going through a nationalistic phase, he said that this was the reason there was so much talk about the withdrawal of foreign troops from Moroccan soil. The Minister pointed out that US forces will withdraw by 1963 and wished to thank the US for keeping Spain informed of this in advance so that it was not faced with a fait accompli.

Referring to the French and Spanish troops in Morocco, Minister Castiella stated that the number of Spanish troops had been substantially reduced from 60,000 at the time of independence to 5,000 today, stationed near Ceuta and Melilla. The Minister informed the Secretary that following his meeting with him and the President in London last August, he was invited by President de Gaulle to visit him in Paris.³ President de Gaulle told him that France could not abandon its bases in Morocco. The Minister continued that Spain was fortunate in not having as many material interests in Morocco as France. He then referred to Ceuta and Melilla which he said were historically Spanish and added that he would elaborate on this in his speech at Georgetown University tomorrow.

The Foreign Minister stated that the Moroccan Government had requested Spain to make a public statement similar to that made by the United States regarding the evacuation of troops. He noted here that the position of the United States vis-à-vis Morocco was as different from the Spanish position as Spain’s was from France. Repeating that there were only 5,000 Spanish troops on Moroccan territory, he said that the Moroccans insisted on their withdrawal, and since Spain had been having trouble supplying its troops in Moroccan territory it was ready to withdraw them completely.

Ambassador Lodge inquired if this applied also to Ifni, to which the Foreign Minister replied that it did not as Ifni was Spanish and he was referring only to Moroccan territory.

The Foreign Minister then noted that, as a loyal friend, the Spanish Government did not want to embarrass France and so he informed the French Ambassador in Madrid of Spain’s intention to withdraw its troops. Sr. Castiella stated that the French Foreign Minister, through the French Ambassador, informed him of his gratitude for the information and that the Moroccans had not been informed of Spanish intentions. While expressing an understanding of Spain’s position, the French requested that the Spanish make no statement of principle regarding the withdrawal of their troops. The Moroccans, Sr. Castiella pointed out, want such a statement. He said that Spain was seeking a solution which would be acceptable to both the Moroccans and French, though it would, in fact, accept this principle in talks with the Moroccans soon. The Foreign Minister informed the Secretary that Spanish troops would not leave immediately but, like the United States, Spain will phase out its troops over an approximate three-year period. He added that the Moroccans want to be informed that Spanish troops will be withdrawn, although they do not appear to be in a hurry for the actual withdrawal.

Referring to the French position, the Foreign Minister stated that Spain had been informed by France that it plans to retire from all but two of its training bases (Base Ecole), but President de Gaulle stated that the French would never leave completely. Sr. Castiella stated that “never” appeared to be a very forceful word. He also stated that President de Gaulle required Agadir and Port Lyautey as bridgeheads essential to continuing French community interests in Africa.

The Secretary inquired when the Spanish Government intended to speak to the Moroccans regarding its intentions. The Foreign Minister indicated that it would do so in the near future, although Spain would not issue a statement immediately as they did not want to embarrass the French. He noted that there was a continuing exchange of information with the French on such subjects as the smuggling of arms to the FLN and activities of Spanish terrorists in France.

0. Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199. Secret. Drafted by Valliere and Van Reigersberg and approved in S on April 1. Five separate memoranda of this conversation were prepared; see Documents 323–326. A summary of this conversation was sent to Madrid in telegram 1342, March 24. (Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1616)
1. See Document 318.
2. See Document 327.
3. Reports on Castiella’s conversations with de Gaulle are in a memorandum of conversation, September 9, 1959, drafted by McBride (Department of State, Central Files, 711.11–EI/9–955), and in despatch 201 from Madrid, September 11, 1959. (Ibid., 752.13/9–1159)