740.00119 EW/12–2045: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9 p.m.]
13320. 1. We have just seen Arfar 1067, December 15, British Embassy, Washington to MEWFO which reported: (a) US proposals regarding sanctions now agreed and signing expected Monday.65 (b) British Embassy urged Department reconsider its position that sanctions be agreed before presentation notes and Department undertook to do so before proposals signed.
2. In subsequent comprehensive discussion of reference Arfar Embassy again urged necessity immediate agreement on sanctions before any further action regarding neutrals as expressed paragraph 3 Embassy’s 13174, December 15, to Department repeated 803 Paris for Angell. We said we could not possibly commence negotiations with Swiss (or even set date) until sanctions agreement reached. Any attempt to thrash out over-all policy questions involved in sanctions while negotiations going on would enable Swiss to discern disunity between ourselves and would stiffen Swiss resistance and probably cause them to try to play us off against each other. We repeated US would be absolutely adamant that sanctions be agreed before Swiss suggestion accepted. We therefore again pressed for immediate decision by interested British agencies on sanctions outlined in Washington Embassy’s Arfar 1051, December 10, to MEWFO (Embtel 13174) subject to Department’s forthcoming sanctions telegram. MEWFO official with whom we spoke said he personally quite agreed and would endeavor obtain sanction views of British authorities.
3. Soon after our discussion same MEWFO official telephoned stating necessary have official statement proposed US sanctions as basis for discussions by interested British agencies. He stated when Department’s [Page 924] forthcoming telegram on sanctions received MEWFO would make every effort to obtain official British sanctions decision. Embassy therefore urges sanctions telegram be sent soon as possible.
4. Embassy feels strongly sanctions should be agreed with British and French before answering Swiss and urges Department maintain that position. We feel British anxiety to proceed with Swiss and present notes to neutrals will constitute important pressure on them to reach earliest possible sanctions agreement and may assist in inducing them to abandon or modify their oft repeated reluctance to participate in any real sanctions.
Sent to Department as 13320, repeated 812 Paris for Angell.
- December 24.↩