From: London                        
 
                                                            
 
 
           To: The President of the United States           
 
                                                            
 
 
                Unnumbered, 14 December 1943                
 
                                                            
 
 
To the President. Following is complete text of Eden's speec
 
                                                            
 
 
   The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Eden):   
 
                                                            
 
 
"My first sentence must be to express my warmest that 
      thanks to this House for their generous treatment of me in so 
      kindly re-arranging business as to enable this debate to take 
      place in the last week before the Christmas recess. I understand, 
      of course, that that re-arrangement must have been inconvenient 
      to many of my Hon. Friends in all parts of the House, and I am 
      the more grateful to them. The fact is that it would not have 
      been possible for me to take part in these recent Turkish conversations 
      in Cairo and get back, despite the best efforts of the Royal 
      Air Force, in time for a debate last Thursday. Again I express 
      my thanks. Let me say also that I only too well under-stand the 
      disappointment that Hon. Members must be feeling that the Prime 
      Minister is not able to be here himself to give and account of 
      these three conferences in which he has played so leading a part 
      My right Hon. Friend asked me to express his regret to the House, 
      but there is still important work for him to do in the so here 
      where he now is, and he is sure the House would wish him to see 
      that work through to the end. So this poor substitute "struts 
               and frets his hour upon the stage."          
 
                                                            
 
 
We have spent three very strenuous weeks, into that short 
      time have been compressed three conferences of world significance 
      any one of which in the ordinary leisured, times of diplomacy 
      would have taken a full month. But, with the repaid development 
      of air communication, methods of consultation have been transformed, 
      go it was possible within only a month of the meeting of the 
      Foreign Secretaries in Moscow to open the yet more authoritative 
      conferences of the heads of governments in Teheren. These meetings 
      between the three men who  %bear the chief responsibility in their 
      respective countries must be a rare event, their value can hardly 
      be exaggerated. They impose a considerable additional burden 
      on those who travel or take part in them. It is not so