Office of the Historian

890D.00/9–2445

The British Embassy to the Department of State

Memorandum

Ref: 256/ /45

His Majesty’s Embassy has been instructed by the Foreign Office to inform the State Department, in strict confidence, that Mr. Bevin is taking advantage of the presence in London of Monsieur Bidault and His Majesty’s Minister at Beirut to ascertain whether any progress can be made with the French on the Levant question on the basis of withdrawal of French and British troops at the earliest possible moment.

2.
Monsieur Bidault has agreed that a member of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs should visit London in the immediate future for exploratory discussions with the Foreign Office.67 No public announcements of these discussions is to be made. Monsieur Bidault has, however, insisted that scope of discussions should nominally be extended to cover matters of mutual interest to France and Britain in the Eastern Mediterranean and that this should be line to be taken in any announcement which might have to be made, if there were any leakage. These forthcoming discussions should throw considerably more light on the French attitude than is available at present, and will certainly reveal whether, and if so in what circumstances, French Government are really prepared to agree to the withdrawal of troops.
3.
Should the State Department wish to inform the United States Minister at Beirut about the above London discussions, His Majesty’s ‘Government hope that Mr. Wadsworth will be instructed not to mention the matter for the moment.68
Washington , September 24, 1945.
  1. In telegram 9885, September 24, 1945, 6 p.m., the Ambassador in the United Kingdom reported that a formula providing for the withdrawal of British and French troops from the Levant had been worked out by representatives of the British and French Foreign Offices (741.51/9–2445).↩

  2. In a memorandum of September 25, 1945, for the files, the Director of the Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs stated:

    “The attached memorandum from the British Embassy, dated September 24, 1945, was left with me by Mr. Michael Wright yesterday.

    “I informed Mr. Wright, in discussing the third paragraph of this memorandum, that the Department had asked Mr. Wadsworth to endeavor to prevent himself from being brought into discussions relating to the withdrawal of troops from Syria and Lebanon.” (890D.00/9–2545)

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