710 Consultation 4/11–3044: Telegram
The Ambassador in Uruguay (Dawson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 11:05 p.m.]
1129. Minister for Foreign Affairs handed me this morning a confidential memorandum of which the following is a close translation:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The opinion expressed by the Uruguayan Government with respect to the Argentine request also responds in its opinion to the objectives stated.60
The Uruguayan Government deems it expedient that the Argentine Government be heard prior to holding the consultative meeting for the sole and exclusive purpose of affording it an opportunity to set forth the orientation and acts of its foreign policy in order to judge the position and foreign conduct of that Government and to resolve after exchanging information and opinions whether or not to align Argentina beside the other republics of the continent.
In the affirmative case there would be reestablished “complete unity of thought and action of the peoples of America for the defense of the hemisphere, collective contribution in the struggle against the Axis powers and elucidation of the political and economic problems connected with the post war period.”61
In the negative case, that is if it should not be possible to align Argentina beside her sisters of the hemisphere, the resolution that might be adopted would acquire greater prestige even among the peoples of the continent and would prevent incidentally a malicious [Page 68] reaction on the part of the forces hostile to the policy of American solidarity which would exploit tendentiously the fact [of] a collective refusal to hear the defense of the Argentine Government.
The Uruguayan Government perceives no objection to hearing the Argentine Government prior to holding the consultative meeting nor does it conceive in any way that this procedure could impair or injure the policy and work of continental solidarity.
On the contrary, it believes that the said procedure has many advantages over that of considering the situation existing between Argentina and the other American Republics at the end of the consultative meeting since it does not perceive the benefits that would be derived from hearing the explanation of the Argentine Government after holding the consultative meeting when there would already have been adopted without its presence or collaboration agreements relating to the war and post war period if the said explanation should finally constitute in the judgment of the American Foreign Ministers the basis of a decision favorable to the alignment of Argentina with the political, spiritual and economic cause of countries of the continent.
Having made these observations the Uruguayan Government proceeds to furnish in their order the clarifications requested:
- 1.
- The Uruguayan Government in its memorandum of November 23rd did not refer in any way to recognition of the Farrell regime because it believes that the said problem could be raised and elucidated after considering and discussing the situation of the Argentine Government with relation to the other American Governments and adopting a decision with respect thereto. As respects the bases on which the maintenance of diplomatic relations with the Farrell regime could be founded the Uruguayan Government declares categorically that it would not accept insecure and vague promises but would require guarantees based on acts and realities.
- 2.
- The nature of the “effective commitments and efficacious measures” that should be demanded of the Argentine Government would be determined by the American countries which at the same time would also have to consider, in order to accept or reject them, those which the Argentine Government itself might propose to undertake and adopt. In this respect the Uruguayan Government believes that the Argentine Government would have to be required to guarantee, through acts which would be judged satisfactory because of their significance and importance, a resolute collaboration with the American Republics in the solution of the war and post war problems.
- 3.
- The reply to this point is in the negative. The agenda
that the Uruguayan Government proposes for the consultative
meeting is exactly that contained in its memorandum of
November 23rd with neither more nor less points than those
set forth in its text. The Uruguayan Government defines its
thought completely by stating that it considers that the
Argentine Government could be heard in an informal meeting
prior to the consultative meeting. The procedure indicated
could produce only these results:
- (a).
- If the explanation of the Argentine Government were not satisfactory that Government would not be invited to the consultative meeting and the respective resolutions would have the prestige and significance of a continental decision on the problem.
- (b).
- If it were resolved to invite the Argentine Government, because of deeming acceptable the guarantees it might offer, there would be available its cooperation in considering and resolving the war and post war problems.
- 4.
- In the eventuality to which this point makes reference, the Uruguayan Government, in accordance with its antecedents of definite and active adherence to the policy of American solidarity, believes that if the conclusion should be reached that it is not possible to align Argentine beside the other American countries in a common front vis-à-vis the war and post war problems, the said country should not participate in the consultative meeting.