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

668.81/5–1950: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Embassy in Greece ¹

confidential

Washington, May 23, 1950—6 p. m.

941. Embtel 1155 May 19.² Concur ur remarks to Politis re internal admin Grk Fon Service.

Also think Politis unduly sensitive re exceedingly mild reference by Kardelj to problem of treatment Grk Macedonians in speech for internal Yugo consumption which otherwise very friendly to Greece (Belgrade’s 645 May 18³). This Yugo “grievance” against Greece wld, moreover, seem to be in same gen category as Grk “grievance” over alleged Yugo aspirations to Grk Macedonia.

These echoes of long-outstanding Yugo-Grk problems must be expected to reverberate for some time, and extreme statements, whether in Grk Parliament, or in Yugo (such as Lazar Mojsov’s on May 17⁴) are unfortunate and shld be discouraged so far as possible. On other hand Grk-Yugo rapprochement is not served when such irresponsible remarks are unnecessarily taken up and amplified by other side.⁵

Webb

1. This telegram was repeated to Belgrade as 397.
2. In an appearance before the Foreign Relations Committee of the Yugoslav National Assembly on May 16, Foreign Minister Kardelj commented upon Yugoslavia’s diplomatic relations with neighboring states. In his statement regarding relations with Greece (for the text, see Carlyle, Documents on International Affairs, 1949–50, p. 501), Kardelj briefly mentioned the Macedonian question as a still unresolved issue. Telegram 1154, May 19, from Athens, not printed, reported that Greek Permanent Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ioannis Politis had issued a declaration to the press denouncing Kardelj’s raising of the Macedonian question as contrary to the spirit of the renewal of relations between Greece and Yugoslavia (668.81/5–1950). Telegram 1155, May 19, from Athens, not printed, reported that Politis had stressed to Charge Harold B. Minor Greek concern over the raising of the Macedonian question by Kardelj (668.81/5–1950).
3. Not printed. It reported on Kardelj’s statement on Yugoslav relations with Greece (768.00/5–1850).
4. Mojsov, a deputy in the Yugoslav National Assembly, had alleged that Greece continued to persecute its Macedonian minorities.
5. Telegram 942, May 23, to Athens, not printed, repeated to Belgrade as 398, informed that officers of the Department of State had strongly cautioned Paul Economou-Gouras, the Greek Chargé in Washington, against Greek hypersensitivity on the Macedonian question. The Department’s officers stressed to Gouras the importance of a rapprochement between Yugoslavia and Greece and other Western powers and pointed out that the United States avoided reacting to routine Yugoslav propaganda against “Western imperialism” (781.00/5–2350).