King Michael, who venerated her memory, he had much influence with the king. Ultimately, the king intervened with Antonescu to advise him that he disapproved of the plans to deport the Jews of the Regat, and the deportations were cancelled. In September 1943, Știrbey used his influence with the king to have Cretzianu appointed the Romanian minister to Turkey, where he let be known that he was willing to serve as a middleman for armistice talks with the Allies On 22 December 1943, in Operation Autonomous, three SOE agents, Alfred Gardyne de Chastelain, Ivor Porter and Silviu Mețianu were parachuted into Romania. Though promptly captured by the Romanian gendarmerie, the three SOE agents were able to make contact with leading figures in the Antonescu government, warning him that to continue the alliance with Germany would result in disaster for Romania and offered the possibility of an armistice with Great Britain. On 11 January 1944, Știrbey met with the Conducător ("Leader") as Antonescu had styled himself at the Sangov Villa; during the meeting, Antonescu told Știrbey that he knew that he disapproved of him and his regime, but asked him as a Romanian "patriot" to serve as a secret emissary for peace talks under the grounds that he had strong ties with Britain. On 1 February 1944, at a secret meeting in Ankara, Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, the British ambassador to Turkey, told Alexandru Cretzianu, the Romanian minister to Turkey, that Știrbey would be welcome as an emissary for talks for an armistice in Egypt. In response, in March 1944 Știrbey travelled via Turkey to Egypt where he opened up talks for an armistice with the Allies. Though Știrbey was supposed to be representing Antonescu in Cairo, before leaving Romania, he made contact with Iuliu Maniu of the National Peasant Party to discuss possible armistice terms that might be reached if Maniu was heading the government. Antonescu had become too closely identified with pro-German policies for the Allies to seriously consider signing an armistice with a government headed by him, and Maniu by contrast was the Romanian politician held in the best regard in London and Washington. In effect Știrbey was in the ambiguous position of representing both Antonescu and Maniu in Cairo. On 1 March 1944, Știrbey left Romania with the official story being he was going to Egypt to inspect a cotton factory he owned there. Unknown to Știrbey, Elyesa