مجموعة ٦/٨٥ "الحدود في الجزيرة العربية: تفسير تفاهم روما لسنة ١٩٢٧." [و‎‎١‎١] (٨٠/٢١)

FOREIGN OFFICE, S.W. 1
26th August, 1937
g?.2 y
(E 4967/10/91)
•'^amediate.
lly dear Cowell,
Under cover of our letter E 4721/10/91 of the
13th August, we sent you a record of a conversation between
the Italian Charg£ d f Affaires and myself about the interpretation
of the Rome Understanding of 1927,
2. The task v/hich confronts us now is to construct a
case which will make it impossible for the Italian Government
to go on maintaining that they were entitled to suppose, when
signing the Rome Understanding, that a large area of "no man f s
"land" existed between the territories of Ibn Saud, the Aden
Protectorate and the territories of the Persian Gulf States,
and that, in consequence, any steps taken by His Majesty's
Government since that date to extend their effective control
up to the limits of territory under Saudi Arabian control are
a breach of that Understanding.
3. At first sight, the Italian attitude may seem so
absurd that it is difficult to take it seriously. But on
closer examination it unfortunately appears that, owing to
certain things said and done in the past, the construction
of our case is not so easy as it might seem.
4. For a start. Signor Crolla is quite right about the
maps. Even official War Office maps have sometimes shown
a distinction between the Aden Protectorate and the Hadramaut.
In addition, semi-official publications like the Colonial
Office list have, I think I am right in saying, included
descriptions/
H.R. Cowell, Esq., C.M.G.
Colonial Office.