740.0011 European War 1939/7329: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:05 p.m.]
1802. The Greek Minister informed a member of my staff last night in confidence that it was the understanding of his Government based on intimations from the German Government that Germany would not intervene directly in the Italian-Greek war unless (1) the British attempted to establish a second general front in the Balkans [Page 573] through the dispatch of troops to Macedonia or (2) the British endeavored to use air bases in Greece for the purpose of bombarding the Rumanian oil wells. The Minister added that insofar as he was aware this remained the general policy of Germany in regard to the Italian-Greek war and he referred in this connection to the “entirely correct” behavior of the German Legation in Athens towards the Greek Government.