740.0011 European War 1939/7–2544: Telegram
The Chargé in Turkey (Kelley) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:09 p.m.]
1362. ReEmbs 1348, July 23. I called upon the Prime Minister at noon yesterday for the purpose of supporting, in accordance with the [Page 890] Department’s instructions, the position taken by the British Government in regard to the rupture by Turkey of diplomatic and economic relations with Germany. The Council of Ministers was in session at the time of my call on the Prime Minister. After I had set forth the position of my Government, the Prime Minister stated that the Turkish Government had decided to take action on the basis of the British Government’s proposal. He said that the Government in accordance with the Turkish Constitution would have to obtain the formal approval of the Grand National Assembly and this matter was now under consideration. I gathered from the Prime Minister’s remarks that the Council of Ministers was then considering whether the matter should be submitted to the Grand National Assembly at the next session on August 2 or whether the members of the Grand National Assembly should be summoned to return to Ankara for a meeting prior to that date.
The Prime Minister requested the British Ambassador to call on him yesterday evening and handed him a written statement of the Turkish Government’s decision to break off diplomatic and economic relations with Germany and of its intention to submit the matter to the Grand National Assembly at its next meeting on August 2. A translation of the text of this statement is transmitted in my next numbered telegram. The Prime Minister stated orally that inasmuch as the Turkish Government was confident of receiving the approval of the Grand National Assembly it had decided to break off relations as of midnight August 2. The Prime Minister intended to ask the German Ambassador to come to Ankara on August 2 and he would inform him of the rupture a few hours before the matter became public on Thursday in connection with its submission to the Grand National Assembly. The Prime Minister said that he suspected that Von Papen might not want to return to Germany at this time as it was possible that he may have been connected in some way with the recent plot against Hitler. He would allow him to remain in Turkey as a private citizen if he so desired.
The Prime Minister said that with a view to keeping the matter secret until August 2 he proposed to tell other Ambassadors who would call upon him in the meantime that discussions between Turkey and her ally were continuing and that the British were still evidencing an unwillingness to furnish Turkey with an adequate amount of military equipment. He hoped that Hugessen would take the same line. Hugessen and I have agreed that we shall follow the line suggested by the Prime Minister in any conversations we may have with foreign colleagues.