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{
    "localId": "193223521",
    "label": "Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Prime Minister of Belgium Joseph Pholien, Ambassador of Belgium Robert Silvercruys, United States Ambassador to Belgium Robert Murphy, George W. Perkins, and Robert Winfree",
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{
    "id": "193223521",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/193223521",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Prime Minister of Belgium Joseph Pholien, Ambassador of Belgium Robert Silvercruys, United States Ambassador to Belgium Robert Murphy, George W. Perkins, and Robert Winfree",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/193223521",
    "collections": [
        "Dean Acheson Papers",
        "Secretary of State Files"
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    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 9,
            "logicalDate": "1951-04-09",
            "month": 4,
            "year": 1951
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{
    "seq": 4,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-da/201181/1721928/1721928-18-04.jpg",
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    "ocrText": "FINANCE\n-4-\nare\nRERVICE\non our part but that Greece owed a debt to Belgium, however, we had\nestablished credits to assist Grecian recovery and Socobel, the Belgian\nfirm, had attached our funds. The Prime Minister stated that Socobel,\nwhich was a private firm, had attached these funds before a Brussels\ncourt and that the Belgian Government had no influence over this court.\nI stated that this was not our understanding of the case - that the\nBelgian Oovernment had been asked to intervene and urge that the attach-\nment be dissolved. However, it was my understanding that the Belgian\nGovernment had urged that the attachment be upheld. The Prime Minister\nagain stated that his Government could not intervene in this case since\nno government could condemn a sovereign foreign state. Ambassador\nMurphy then stated that he understood that the Belgian Government had\nintervened in this case because The Hague Court of Arbritation in 1936\nhad rendered a decision favorable to the Belgians, therefore, the Belgian\nGovernment, on the basis of The Hague decision, felt that it should\nintervene. The Prime Minister said he thought the situation was now\nclear and when I remarked that it was something that should be straighten-\ned out, he agreed. I added that I of ten had to sign certificates\ncertifying that certain corporations were owned by foreign governments\nand were therefore exempt from action by our courts.\nI suggested that if the Prime Minister were questioned by the Press\non this matter that he merely state that he had not yet seen the story\nand could therefore make no comment.\nDECLASSIFIED\nE, O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and S(D) or (E)\n5-2-2020\nDept. of State letter, Aug\nEx N.T. HC PARS 6.24.76\nEUR: WE : RMWinfree: : cmm"
}