§ Viscount Castlereaghasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether the attitude of His Majesty's Government in regard to Spain was arrived at after consultation with the Governments of the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R.
§ Mr. George HallThe policy of His Majesty's Government towards Spain has1366W been framed and executed in the closest consultation with the United States Government, who were directly associated with the recent agreement on 2nd May. My right hon. Friend indicated to the House on 3rd May that each item of that agreement, one of which concerned the final withdrawal of the remnants of the Blue Division from the Eastern front, marked a substantial gain for the United Nations as a whole and represented a notable step towards the fulfilment of strict Spanish neutrality. As the Soviet Government are not in diplomatic relations with the Spanish Government and as their economic and strategic interests in the Iberian Peninsula are not comparable with those of His Majesty's Government or the United States Government, they are inevitably less closely associated than are the United States Government with British policy towards Spain, although they were, of course, informed of the terms of the recent agreement.