Cablegram 300 PARIS, 29 December 1948, 10.25 p.m.
RESTRICTED
Security Council.
See our en clair report. [1]
1. Council is at last becoming really impatient with the Dutch and members are slowly facing up to the ineffectiveness of its activities to date. The question of taking effective action now is complicated by the break from 30th December to 6th January and the Dutch having avoided decisive action in the Council before this break have won a major victory, as it is doubtful what can now be salvaged from the wreck of the Republic.
2. The Americans saw me this morning. While they are unable to say so publicly at this stage, the complete cessation of E.R.P.
assistance to the Dutch, unless their attitude changes, is becoming more than a possibility. They hope that they will be able to restrain the Dutch by diplomatic action during the Council break and, in fact, seem to hope for more from diplomatic channels than from the Council itself. Although they are in part blameworthy, the Council’s record over the past week makes such a view understandable. In any event I understand that the United States would have supported the Ukraine’s withdrawal charter [2] had not United Kingdom intervened to the contrary, which makes inconsistency of latter even more disappointing. The United Kingdom’s wholly negative attitude has continued and been underlined in today’s debate.
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1 Document 494.
2 See Document 481.
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[AA:A1838, 854/10/4/3, iiib]