767.68119/362: Telegram
The Special Mission at Lausanne to the Secretary of State
[Received January 10—11:40 a.m.]
186. Conversations yesterday with Curzon, Bompard, and Garroni.60 The present outlook appears to be as follows:
There is little expectation on the part of the British that a peace can be framed which will resolve all issues raised, but they think that a treaty of peace can be drafted from which the mention of certain demands of the Allies could be omitted, and by which other matters could be either entrusted to the decision of commissions or left in suspense. This view is also that of the French and Italians, who are, however, disinclined to leave question of the capitulations to a commission of jurists from Turkey and the capitulatory powers lest delay in elaborating a new arrangement will work injury to their own nationals. All concerned believe that the extreme views adopted [Page 949] by the Turkish Government will stand in the way of a settlement of questions which the Turks regard as touching their national sovereignty, and will lead to imperfect solutions for such other questions as minorities, debt administration, and foreign relations. Settlements are taking form, although it is plain to everybody that the Turks, seeing the reluctance of the Allies to establish their claims by force, are now going back even on the settlements already arrived at. The Allies are in a humiliating position from which they can be extricated only by playing upon the desire of the Turks to obtain peace and to take up unhampered the task of their own economic rehabilitation. The Allies can influence the Turks in only three ways: by counsel, by force, and by economic pressure. Their counsels are now disregarded, none of them is willing to employ force, and there remains therefore only the power of economic pressure with which to patch up a treaty.
The Allies still seem to present an unbroken front, and their embarrassments will no doubt compel them to cooperate in retrieving what they can under the circumstances.
There is a good deal of uncertainty in the policy of the Allies regarding the treaty which is being drafted. They are now disposed to draw up general forms of proposals to be offered for the consideration of the Turks rather than to present a complete and definitive draft of a treaty. They have also not yet decided whether they should limit their proposals to matters upon which the Allies are prepared to take a firm stand, or should admit others, such as delimiting territory for the Armenians, upon which they may yield. We will try to obtain for the Department a draft of the treaty as soon as these questions are decided.
We have broached the matter of Mosul to Curzon, who discussed it confidentially. He informed us that the Turks began by asking only for a portion of the oil produced, but that they soon expanded their demands to include all the Mosul territory. Curzon stated explicitly that there had not been any discussions on petroleum, but he intimated that the time might come when, in order to provide the Turks and Italians a share in the oil rights, the British, French, and Americans would have to reduce their own portions. Upon these observations no comment was made. But when Curzon remarked in a tone of expostulation upon the activities of Bill Meyer [Untermeyer?] here on behalf of American interests61 trying to induce the Turkish delegates to recognize Abdul Hamid’s claims, he was informed that the American delegation had not at any time engaged the Turks in a discussion of the Donovan [Ottoman?] interests.
[Page 950]It is the opinion of Salisbury [sic] and Barrère that there will be no war even if the negotiations here are broken off, but that should hostilities ensue it will be the Turks who will begin the fighting. They believe that so long as there is a risk of bringing France and Italy into the war against them the Turks will refrain from an advance upon Constantinople, and that an advance in the direction of Mosul would be held up for some time by discontent in the Army, the rigours of winter, and other hindrances.
Many reliable sources of information indicate that Soviet agents and representatives of groups interested in supplying the Turks with munitions are in touch with the Turkish delegation here.