1662          FOREIGN RELATIONS, 1'949, VOLUME V1

demands- for- Jointcontrol of the Straits, and-our -moral support in
resisting the Kars-Ardahan and GeorgiaInAclaimsý put forward quasi--
officially by Moscow.-
  We have encouraged Turkey's policies of active participation in*
the affairs of the United Nations, the maintenance- of its 1939 alli-.
ances with the UK and France, and its desire to seek in so far as
possible the friendship of all nations, including the USSR., Turkey
feels itself to be in an exposed and precarious situation, however,
and is constantly seeking reassurances regarding its security. The
Turkish Ambassador early sought US support for Turkey's adherence
to the North Atlantic pact, but, as the situation developed, Turkey
was deemed ineligible for membership because of the complications
that would ensue if the alliance were extended beyond the Western
European-North Atlantic area.. Both the US and "the UK recognized,
however, that the conclusion of the pact might have undesirable
repercussions on Turkey as well as other nations such as Greece
and Iran necessarily excluded from its scope. Not only these nations
but the USSR might construe such an omission as an indication
that aggression against those states would not cause any serious re-
action on the part of the major Western powers. The US and UK,
therefore, considered an attempt to counteract this dangerous possi-
bility by the issuance of special declarations which, in the case of
Turkey, would serve to supplement and reemphasize President
Truman's statement of 'October 29, 1948.- When we intimated this
possibility to the Turks, they took the position that only the US, the
UK and possibly France should be parties to a declaration since
nothing was to be gained by a statement regarding Turkey's security
emanating from the smaller European nations. Since the announce-
ment of the North Atlantic Treaty, the Secretary of State has twice
referred publicly to our continuing interest in Turkey,4 and the Presi-
dent again adverted to it in his speech at the Treaty signing cere-
monies.5 No further formal declarations are planned at the present
time.
  Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sadak has been actively exploring the
possibilities of establishing a Mediterranean pact, similar in principle
to the North Atlantic alliance. During February 1949, he journeyed
to London, Paris and Brussels, but his conversations with Bevin,

  8 Regarding the statement under reference-here, see footnote 10 to the
Secre-
tary of State's memorandum of conversation of April 12, p. 1650.
  4See footnote 11 to the Secretary of State's memorandum of conversation
of
April 12, ibid.
  Sor the text of President Truman's address on the occasion of the signing
of the North Atlantic Treaty, April 4, 1949, see Department of State Bulletin,
April 17, 1949, pp. 481-482, or Publio Papers of the Presidents of the United
:States: Harry S. Truman, 1949, pp. 196-198.