Sa position était prévisible : si le gouvernement britannique acceptait que Damas, Homs, Hama et Alep fissent désormais partie de la sphère d'influence directe de la France, il romprait son engagement envers les Arabes, ce qui n'était pas envisageable.
He was bound to say that if the British Government now agreed that Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo should be included in the sphere of direct French influence, they would be breaking faith with the Arabs, and they could not face this.