Foreign Relations of the United States, 1949, Eastern Europe; The Soviet Union, Volume V

Editorial Note

On May 23, 1949, an official of the British Embassy in Washington informed the Department of State that the Albanian regime had made no approach to the United Kingdom Government concerning the possible establishment of diplomatic relations. The Embassy official explained that had such an approach been made, the British reaction would have been approximately the same as that of the United States. The British Foreign Office did not consider it desirable to establish normal diplomatic relations with Albania because of: (1) Albania’s aid to the Greek guerrillas; (2) Albania’s action against British ships in the Corfu Channel in 1946 and its failure to pay damages called for; (3) the probable adverse reaction of opinion in the United Kingdom and Greece to any move normalizing relations with Albania; and (4) the fact that the Hoxha regime was in a very weak position and ought not to be strengthened in any way, materially or psychologically. These British views were reported in a circular telegram transmitted to various missions in Europe on June 6 (800.00 Summaries/6–649).