210. Editorial Note
On January 27, in a conversation on the Queen Elizabeth, en route from London to Washington, Aldrich (who was accompanying Eden to the United States) and the British Prime Minister discussed Buraimi. The memorandum of conversation reads as follows:
“In discussing the Middle East, I again raised the Buraimi dispute and the need to find a satisfactory solution. I reiterated all of the points made in Under Secretary Hoover’s memorandum which had been previously given to the British.
“The Prime Minister lost his temper and flared up bitterly about the United States wanting always to have Britain abandon its interests and give away its rights.
“I said I could confidently assure him and his government that the United States did not want to replace Britain in the area and did not want American oil interests to oust the British; that we had no intention of seeking to expand the Saudi Arabian kingdom at British expense; that we feared failure to reach a solution and having the matter come up in the UN would be embarrassing to both Governments.
“Sir Anthony seemed very much reassured as a result of my categorical statement that we were not trying to take over oil interests from the British and indicated that a way would be found to enter direct negotiations with Ibn Saud over the disputed boundaries.” (A copy of the memorandum of conversation is an attachment to a memorandum from Barnes to Hoover, January 30; Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 62 D 181, CF 648B.)