890D.01/12–345
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Director of the Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs (Henderson)
Mr. Michael Wright, Counselor of the British Embassy, handed me this afternoon copies of three documents, copies of which are attached:
- 1.
- A draft agreement regarding similarity of British and French aims in the Middle East.
- 2.
- A draft agreement between the British and French Governments regarding withdrawal of troops from Syria and Lebanon.
- 3.
- An extract from a telegram dated November 16 addressed by the British Foreign Office to the British Minister to Syria and Lebanon.79
Mr. Wright informed me that after protracted negotiations, two draft agreements had been drawn up between the British and French Governments: the first relating to the similarity of British and French aims in the Middle East, and the second regarding the withdrawal of troops. He was handing me copies of these two drafts in the hope that the Department could furnish the British Embassy confidentially its views with regard to them. If these agreements should be signed by the British and French Governments, it was possible that one obstacle to the conclusion of a British-French entente, namely, differences between the British and French regarding the Near East, would be removed.
I expressed appreciation of the courtesy of the British Government in submitting these drafts to the Department and said that after we had had an opportunity to examine them, we would be glad to pass along to the Embassy informally our views.
Mr. Wright asked me if I could glance at them at once since it would be helpful to him without delay to obtain at least my personal impressions.
[Here follows statement of Mr. Henderson’s personal views which coincided with those given as the views of the Department of State in “Substance of Oral Statement”, December 13, page 1178. With regard to the first draft agreement, Mr. Henderson records: “Mr. Wright said that the Embassy had foreseen what our reaction to the proposed agreement would be. Before presenting the draft to the Department, the Embassy had, therefore, suggested certain changes in the penultimate sentence which would eliminate such an expression as ‘the leading role’. The Foreign Office had replied that the French Government was insisting that the agreement be signed without any changes whatsoever.”]
I said that I was not prepared to discuss the suggestions contained in the telegram of November 16 from the Foreign Office to the British Minister to Syria and Lebanon since the suggestions contained in that telegram seemed to be predicated upon conclusion of the two agreements.
Mr. Wright said he thought it would be helpful if he could transmit a summary of our conversation to his Government. I replied that I had no objection provided he made it clear that my remarks were of a preliminary and personal nature and had been made without full discussion with the other interested members of the Department.
[Page 1176]- Extract from telegram of November 16, not printed.↩