851.00/2288
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
The French Ambassador called to see me this morning at his request.
The Ambassador read to me a telegram he had received from his Foreign Minister, Admiral Darlan, commenting upon the Ambassador’s report of his last conversation with me. Admiral Darlan instructed the Ambassador to state that he was deeply hurt by the references [Page 154] to him and to his policies which I had made to the Ambassador, and desired the Ambassador to reiterate officially to me the assurances previously given, namely, that the French Government, so long as Admiral Darlan remained Foreign Minister, would not agree under any circumstances to undertake any actions in the interest or benefit of Germany other than those which were specifically called for by the terms of the Armistice and that nothing beyond this would be agreed to. Admiral Darlan further referred to the possibility of the transfer of the Dunkerque from Oran to Toulon and said that as I had already been informed, that transfer would not be made. Admiral Darlan further specifically denied that any supplies of rubber, bauxite, aluminum, et cetera, coming from abroad were being permitted by the French Government at Vichy to pass through unoccupied France to occupied France for the benefit of the Germans.
I stated to the Ambassador that I was, of course, glad to receive these assurances, but that I could only state, and state very emphatically, that the information which this Government had relative to the last point mentioned by Admiral Darlan was completely counter to the statements made by Admiral Darlan.
The Ambassador did not press the point.
At this stage he complained again of the fact that his Government was not keeping him informed of developments and expressed the greatest disquiet and agitation, which I thought seemed completely sincere on his part, at the continued infiltration of German officers into North Africa. The Ambassador said that when he had been in the army, he had been in Morocco and for that reason he realized better than many others how dangerous this was.