890G.00/520
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs (Murray)
The Turkish Ambassador called yesterday to inform me that he had not failed to communicate to his Government the information which I had conveyed to him some days ago regarding the serious political situation in Iraq due to the apparently disloyal attitude of the Iraqi Government and the threat of the latter to reestablish relations with Germany. I had informed the Ambassador, at the same time, of the representations which this Government had instructed our Minister in Baghdad to make, and I had suggested to the Ambassador that he might care to communicate with his Government with a view to similar action being taken in Baghdad by the Turkish Minister there.
The Ambassador stated that he was now in receipt of a telegraphic reply from his Government to the effect that the Turkish Foreign Minister had immediately called in the Iraqi Minister to inquire regarding the situation in Iraq and that the latter, while denying all knowledge of any difficulty between the Iraqi Government and British officials in Baghdad, had promised to inquire at once of his Government and to let the Turkish Foreign Minister know. It appears that in the telegram received by Mr. Ertegün here the Turkish Foreign [Page 721] Minister had furthermore stated that his reports from Iraq did not indicate any serious trouble. Nevertheless, it is the intention of the Turkish Government, when it will have received accurate information and if the situation is as serious as has been reported, to take steps along the lines already taken by our Minister.