868.00/12–1344
Memorandum by the Secretary of State to President Roosevelt
I transmit herewith a copy of Ambassador MacVeagh’s telegram of December 848b proposing the formation of an international commission [Page 150] of British, Russian and American representatives to oversee the holding of a plebiscite on the Greek regime and generally supervise an impartial settlement of the Greek crisis.
It seems likely that Mr. Churchill would immediately veto Russian participation, as he appears acutely to fear Russian penetration into Greece, and I think we should refuse any possible counter-proposal to intervene on a purely Anglo-American basis. I should also have some hesitancy in participating in an international commission unless we are prepared to send some civil affairs troops into Greece so that we could actually be sure of what was going on.
You may consider Ambassador MacVeagh’s proposal impracticable, for the foregoing or other reasons. However, in communicating our reaction to his proposal, we might well ask the Ambassador to report whether he or the British there have any suggestions to submit as to any way in which we could be helpful.