Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams

DEPARTMENT OF STATE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON June 21,1948 SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS YUGOSLAVIA Ambassador Reams has reported from Belgrade his convic- tion that Roams fools that the Yugoslav insistence that the Danube Conference be held in Belgrade constitutes the first direct and irrevocable challenge by any satellite to the authority of their Soviet overlords. The decision made by Tito to "challenge Stalin" faces the USSR, for the first time in history, with a consolidated Communist regime outside its borders which is willing to risk a con- trary course of action. Reams points out that this move, made with the concurrence of other top Yugoslav Communists, is the climax of a trend of events which became evident in early May. Soviet acceptance of Belgrade as the site of the forthcoming conference constitutes, according to Reams, a belief that Tito's position is strong enough to require the "traditional gradual undermining." PALESTINE A "milestone in British thinking" has been passed with the new-found conviction in the UK Foreign Office that a small compact sovereign Jewish state would be in the best interests of the Arabs, according to Ambassador Douglas. Holders of this view believe that the Arab population in Palestine would otherwise soon be dominated by Jews, and that only the Jews themselves can control Jew- ish immigration. Douglas feels that this conviction will soon become the "official" UK line to the Arab governments. Douglas has been informed that Bevin is anxious to con- solidate and extend beyond the present truce period the common ground found between the US and the British on Palestine. Bevin feels it likely that the US or the UK may be approached for counsel on the Palestine question, and thinks it advisable that agreement be reached between the two governments before such advice is given. FRANCE Our Ambassador in Paris has been informed that Bidault expects to be ousted in a few days. Schuman is devot- ing his energies to preventing this. Belgian Prime Minister Spaak has told our Brussels representative that he feels the action by the French Assembly in DECLASSIFIED E.O. 12065, Sec. 3-402 State Dept. Guideline, June 12, 1979 By NLT- He NARS, Date 11-13-to