860H.01/7–844
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Chief of the Division of Southern European Affairs (Cannon)
| Participants: | The Yugoslav Ambassador |
| Mr. Stettinius | |
| Mr. Cavendish W. Cannon, SE |
The Yugoslav Ambassador called, at his request, on the Under Secretary at eleven o’clock this morning. He handed to the Under Secretary a letter addressed to the Secretary, a copy of which is attached hereto.25
The substance of this communication is that a new Yugoslav Government has been formed at London under circumstances which he considers as demonstrating that it does not represent the views of the majority of the Yugoslav people; the lack of Serbian representation will, the Ambassador thinks, cause the people of Serbia to believe that this new Government is directed against them; since he believes that the destiny of the Yugoslav people cannot be decided upon without the participation of the Serbs, he informs the Department that he is obliged to refuse to recognize the new Government.
After reading the letter the Under Secretary said that he regretted very much that Mr. Fotitch would no longer be the Yugoslav representative here, and spoke of the cordial relations with Mr. Fotitch, which the Department had had throughout the period of his service in Washington. The Under Secretary then asked Mr. Fotitch what plans he had made.
[Page 1389]The Ambassador replied that he expected to remain in this country and that he thought that it was his duty to make known, in whatever way he could, what he believes are the realities of the situation as regards the people of Yugoslavia. He said that he appreciates the friendship which this Government and the American people have always shown for the people of Yugoslavia, and feels sure that this will endure, and that the Americans will also duly appreciate the reasons why the interests of all elements of the people of Yugoslavia should be safeguarded.
Mr. Fotitch then said that he could well envisage what would be the attitude of this Government toward the new Yugoslav Government which, he agreed, had been appointed by the King. He assured the Under Secretary that he would undertake “nothing that would embarrass the administration and the Department.”
In the brief conversation that followed he spoke with some feeling, referring to the letter which King Peter had sent to the President in April in which the King had said that the course which people in London were urging him to take amounted to a betrayal of the interests of his people. He concluded by saying that he was confident that this phase in the state of Yugoslav affairs would not be permanent and that the ultimate solution would have to take into account the political realities of the situation. The Under Secretary again remarked that he was sorry to see our relations with Mr. Fotitch come to an end. Mr. Fotitch remarked that these were the “official” relations, and he hoped that the friendly personal relations would continue.
Note: It will be observed that Mr. Fotitch does not resign. By “refusing to recognize” his Government he sets himself in a position which may present complications.
- Not printed.↩