765.84/46: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Bullitt) to the Secretary of State

319. The Italian Ambassador informed me today that he understood that agreement had been reached between France and Italy with [Page 758] regard to Abyssinia. He said that England had promised definitely last year that she would not interfere with Italy’s actions in Abyssinia no matter what Italy might do; that the French had now agreed to take a similar position. I asked him if this meant an early outbreak of hostilities. He said that he felt that as soon as the Abyssinians realized that they could expect help from no one on earth they would speedily lose their exaggerated ideas of independence and acquiesce in the reasonable demands of Italy and that force would not have to be applied.

Bullitt