Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, Central and Eastern Europe; The Soviet Union, Volume IV

668.81/1–2450

Memorandum of Conversation by the Officer in Charge of Balkan Affairs (Campbell)

secret

[Washington,] January 24, 1950.

Lord Jellicoe¹ called to say that the British Foreign Office wished to get the Department’s views on a possible approach to the Greek and Yugoslav Governments with the purpose of improving relations between them. The Foreign Office feels that there are indications, for example Kardelj’s speech of December 28² and his interview with Peake a week earlier,³ that the Yugoslavs are ready to establish more friendly and cooperative relations with Greece; the Greeks have also affirmed their desire for better relations with Yugoslavia. For various reasons, the Foreign Office considers the present moment opportune for a joint US–UK approach to the two Governments in order to bring them closer together. They mentioned the fact that the situation is more favorable now with a care-taker government in Greece⁴ and with Pipinelis⁵ still in the Foreign Office than it has been in the past or might be after the elections. The Foreign Office thinks that the Yugoslavs are now very much concerned over additional Soviet pressures which may be applied against them in the spring and summer and may be in a mood to listen to Western advice on the subject of relations with Greece, Italy and Austria. Since the Greeks have already approached the French Government as well as the UK and US on this question, the British think that France should be brought into any common action agreed upon.⁶

The Foreign Office would like to know whether the US agrees that an approach of the type mentioned above would be desirable. If it is undertaken, they say, it should be done immediately; if delayed until a date much closer to the Greek election, it would be likely to cause embarrassment to all concerned by being injected into the electoral campaign.

[

John C. Campbell

]

1. Second Secretary of the British Embassy in Washington.
2. Regarding the speech under reference here, see footnote 2, p. 1348.
3. Lord Jellicoe called on Campbell on January 10 to show him copies of telegrams giving details of conversations between Sir Charles Peake, the British Ambassador in Yugoslavia, and Yugoslav Foreign Minister Kardelj (memorandum of conversation by Campbell, January 10: 641.68/1–1050).
4. On January 6, 1950, following the resignation of the Greek cabinet of Prime Minister Alexander Diomedes, John Theotokis formed a “caretaker government” pending the outcome of the Greek national election on March 5, 1950.
5. Panayotis Pipinelis, Greek Permanent Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
6. On January 27 Gontran Begoügne de Juniac, First Counselor of the French Embassy in Washington, called at the Department of State to inquire as to the Department’s reaction to the British proposal and to indicate that the French Government was inclined to take a negative view of the proposed démarche (memorandum of conversation by Yost, January 27: 667.81/1–2750).