Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Near East Region; Iran; Iraq, Volume XII

261. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs (Rountree) to the Secretary of State¹

Washington, September 6, 1957.

SUBJECT

• Soviet Note on the Middle East of September 3, 1957

Discussion:

The latest Soviet note on the Middle East dated September 3, 1957, replying to the United States note of June 11, 1957,² is primarily a restatement of familiar themes. These themes, however, have been updated by references to Sixth Fleet maneuvers “in connection with the developments in Jordan,” the “unprovoked aggression” by Great Britain against the people of Oman, the allegation that the United States and other Western powers “prevented” the Security Council from discussing the problem of Oman, and the anti-government conspiracy allegedly exposed in Syria “which was organized by official American representatives”.

Similar notes despatched to the United Kingdom and France differed little from the note addressed to the United States Government, although they both included specific references to the Baghdad Pact.

The notes are probably designed to serve as a warning to the West against countermeasures in Syria. Their delivery is timed to make a bid for Arab support as the UNGA convenes by restating the familiar Soviet propaganda themes.

Recommendation:

That, should the matter be raised in your talks with Foreign Minister Pineau, you indicate that the Department is drafting a reply which, after coordination with French and United Kingdom officials, you feel should be delivered in the near future.³

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 680.00/9–657. Confidential. Drafted by John Dorman, Deputy Director of the Office of Near Eastern Affairs.
2. On February 11, 1957, the Soviet Union initiated a public exchange of correspondence with the United States concerning a Soviet proposal for a four-power declaration setting forth basic principles to govern the policy of the two powers with respect to the Middle East. For text of the two notes cited here, as well as previous correspondence, see American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1957, pp. 761–769.
3. The United States responded to the Soviet note on September 24 in a note from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For text, see Ibid., p. 770.