Coll 6/81 'Syria: Status of Alexandretta and Antioch.' [‎192r] (384/576)

THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOYEJ^ ^MEnJ^ 21 .
EASTERN (Syria).
CONFIDENTIAL.
January 7, IS 37
Section ik
1325
T957 J
[E 149/3/89j
Mr. Eden to Sir P. Loraine (A n
(No. 24.)
Sir, Foreign Office, January 7, 1937.
THE Turkish Ambassador asked to see me this evening when he stated that
a few days ago he had had an opportunity of speaking to Sir Robert Vansittart
on the subject of the Alexandretta Sanjak when Mr. Rendel had also been present.
The latter had explained certain weaknesses which he considered to exist in the
Turkish case from the juridical point of view. The Turkish Government, how
ever, did not wholly agree with this view and the Ambassador had therefore been
instructed to come to see me to speak about the matter. As I would be aware,
conversations had taken place in Paris between M. Aras and M. Delbos and
M. Blum, when the last-named had undertaken to interest himself personally in
the issue. When, therefore, the French Ambassador had returned to Angora the
Turkish Government had been disappointed to find that he had no new suggestions
to make. M. Aras had understood that the French Government appreciated that
a system should be set up in Alexandretta which if not strictly independent of
Damascus rule was at least largely so. Now that the Ambassador had returned
without any further information the Turkish Government were anxious lest the
French Government should have receded from that position and taken up a stiller
attitude. What the Turks really could not endure was that a number of men and
women of their race should be governed by Arabs from Damascus. They had lost
the war and as a consequence the sanjak had been surrendered, but it had not
been surrendered to Arab rule. In these conditions, the Ambassador had been
instructed to come and ask for my help. The Ambassador mentioned that the
Turkish Government had always been a faithful member of the League and were
most anxious to act as such.
2. I replied that his Excellency’s visit was most opportune since I myself
was anxious to speak to him about the situation that was developing between
Turkey and France on this issue. He would be aware that Lord Cranborne had
spoken to M. Aras at Geneva, and would recall what Sir Robert Vansittart and
Mr. Rendel had said to the Ambassador himself in London. I had nothing to add
to these statements, all of which I fully endorsed. My object this evening, how^-
ever, was not to enter with him into the merits of the case, though I was prepared
to do this at any time if his Excellency so desired, but rather to deal with the
short period which must now intervene before the matter came before the Council
at Geneva.
3. I then drew the Ambassador’s attention to the reports in the evening
papers that Turkey was massing troops on her southern frontier. The
Ambassador read the reports and stated that he had no information that could
either confirm or deny them. I said that I much hoped that there was no truth
in these reports because if it were true that a large number of troops had been
sent to Turkey’s southern frontier the Ambassador would appreciate that such a
move might aggravate the situation with which the Council would so soon have
to deal. I proposed to speak to him frankly because the relations of our two
countries were so exceptionally good that I felt that the frankness would be
understood. The Ambassador immediately said that this was so. I then told his
Excellency that our urgent and earnest advice to the Turkish Government, given
as a friend of Turkey, was that they should go slow and be very careful not to take
any action in the next few days which might be misunderstood or which might
aggravate the situation. To show the Ambassador that our action was entirely
spontaneous I added that in point of fact I had received no communication of any
kind from the French Government recently, and, though M. Corbin had been to
see me this afternoon, he had not even mentioned the subject.
4. M. Okyar replied that he would certainly report what I had said to his
Government. He was afraid that the truth was that opinion on this subject was
very strong in Turkey. Did I think that there was a good chance of Geneva
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