875.01/11–1045: Telegram
The Acting Representative in Albania (Fultz) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:52 p.m.]
187. Urgent. Soviet note on recognition delivered Hoxha 815 hours November 10 and British note at 1100 hours. Your 106 not yet received. Because of WT57 schedule not expected today, November 10.
Absence of text US note has made necessary change in procedure outlined your 107 November 8, 3 p.m.58
[Page 69]Informal note of explanation delivered to Hoxha morning November 10 covering following points: (1) US Government after consultation with that of Soviet Union and Great Britain willing establish diplomatic relationship with Albanian Government; (2) recognition would be accorded under conditions US note text which delayed in transmission, and to be delivered immediately on receipt; (3) text of note being released to press in Washington today November 10; (4) he, Hoxha being given this advance information in keeping with US Government’s agreement with Soviet and British Governments that representatives of three in Tirana would notify him on same date November 10.
To this written informal note has been added verbally that recognition by US Government conditioned on assurance that genuinely free elections will be held, all democratic groups and candidates fully safeguarded and that foreign correspondents may enter Albania and report freely on elections (Dept’s 2273, to Moscow, 967 [9672] London repeated Tirana as 104).
Would appreciate Dept’s assistance in effecting early transmission of its 106 embodying text of US note. (Re our 186 November 859 repeated in urgent service November 9).
Tirana’s No. 187, repeated to Caserta for Jacobs as 226, repeated to Rome for Jacobs as 14 and to Bern for Jacobs.
- Presumably, wireless transmission.↩
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Telegram 107 not printed, but see footnote 55 above. In despatch 118, November 17, from Tirana, Fultz explained the procedure he followed: “In view of the non-receipt of the text of the U. S. note I had in the meantime prepared a brief statement of explanation to Colonel-General Hoxha in which it was made clear that an accord had been reached on the question of recognition by the United States, British and Soviet Governments (our telegram no. 187, November 10) and that it had been agreed that representatives of the three governments would communicate to him the intention of their respective governments to grant recognition. Because of the agreement on notifying General Hoxha on November 10, it seemed essential that some explanation be given him, although it had not been decided whether I would go independently or with Brigadier Hodgson and Colonel Sokolov [the Soviet representative] or at the same time.
“On receipt of information from Brigadier Hodgson that the Soviet representative had already delivered the note of his government it seemed all the more desirable that the fact of the agreement of the three governments to notify General Hoxha on the same date of their intentions to recognize be emphasized. On this basis I proceeded on the assumption that full coordination of activities pertinent to recognition was considered desirable and had been intended. The fact that the Soviet representative either by instruction or on his own initiative had taken earlier action certainly did not preclude full coordination with the activities of Brigadier Hodgson, the British representative. I accordingly acted on that basis and agreed to go with Brigadier Hodgson at 1100 hours and to make it clear that we were carrying out our part of an agreement already determined upon. I am convinced that nothing has been lost by so doing” (875.01/11–1745)
↩ - Not printed; it reported that neither Department instructions nor text of proposed note to Hoxha had been received (875.01/11–845).↩