811.20 Defense (M) Turkey/588: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom ( Winant )
3407. Embassy’s 3595, May 25, 11 p.m. Embassy’s telegram under reference reports united agreement by British ministries concerned that all preemptive purchasing in Turkey along lines conducted currently and in past be abandoned. The Department is unaware of existence of high strategic or political considerations which would render such abandonment necessary. As recently as May 7, our Ambassador to Turkey informed the Department of his intention to continue preemptive operations as in past including “unauthorized” or “unofficial” purchases. The Department, after consideration of possible political repercussions to be risked, approved his decision.
Unless there exist broad considerations of which the Department is unaware, the Department would find it difficult to justify to the Board of Economic Warfare the abandonment, as proposed by the [Page 1133] British, of a preemptive program which it has explicitly approved. The Department therefore would appreciate it if you would ascertain from the Foreign Office the background of the recommendation reported in the Embassy’s telegram under reference and report urgently.