Cablegram 198 LONDON, 28 December 1948, 11.15 p.m.
IMMEDIATE CONFIDENTIAL
Your telegrams 163 and 164. [1]
I had a long talk with McNeil this morning (Tuesday) and elaborated in accordance with above telegrams points regarding (a) danger of loss of initiative (b) effect of United States supplies.
McNeil replied that United Kingdom had abstained on the Ukrainian motion for withdrawal because of its one sided terms (in contrast with withdrawal clause which United Kingdom had supported on Friday) and on Soviet motion because it merely repeated Soviet resolution of Friday. [2] Dening returned to Paris last night for today’s meeting. McNeil is at a loss to explain United States’ apparent change of attitude yesterday but his information today was that their view was stiffening and that they were restive at Dutch attitude to the cease-fire order.
McNeil stressed that United Kingdom still has gravest doubts about going on to sanctions and believes that the best chance is to make every effort to get Friday’s resolution observed.
Incidentally McNeil read me telegram of instructions to United Kingdom Ambassador at The Hague in which latter was instructed to express Government’s displeasure at military action. It emphasised United Kingdom warnings of inevitable consequences of such action and also the fact that the Dutch in recent exchanges [3] following Hatta’s letter [4] had given Cochran time limit for reply which was quite impossible and therefore had prevented Committee of Good Offices from functioning.
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1 See Document 485 and note 2 thereto.
2 See Documents 462 and 481.
3 See Document 381.
4 See Document 370.
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[AA:A1838, 854/10/4/3, ii]