Office of the Historian

245. Letter From Secretary of State Dulles to Foreign Secretary Lloyd1

Washington, August 13, 1956.

My Dear Selwyn: I am appreciative of the message from you which Sir Roger delivered to me on July 28.2 I regret that your talks with Azzam Pasha did not produce results of greater moment, but I believe they were valuable as a step toward an ultimate understanding with Saudi Arabia. We are, of course, pleased to receive word of your intentions to continue the discussions with Prince Faisal on the official level.

I was interested to learn of your plan to raise formally the possibility of Saudi Arabian access to the sea near Qatar. This was, of course, not a formal proposal on the part of the President, but a passing suggestion arising from the history of the 1935 negotiations. We are certain that there are other possible territorial adjustments, too, which could be explored. Azzam’s insistence upon the importance of Buraimi comes as no surprise to us, but we believe it still possible, through discussions not too limited by prior conditions and conducted in an atmosphere of good will, to produce a formula acceptable to both sides. We continue to believe, particularly in the [Page 397] light of recent events in Egypt, that the preservation of our joint position in the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf can be more satisfactorily insured by reaching accord with Saudi Arabia.

If a definite treaty boundary between Saudi Arabia and the Arab principalities could be found which the United States and the United Kingdom could support publicly and firmly for the future, we would have gone far toward removing a problem which otherwise seems destined to plague us for a long time.3

Sincerely yours,

John Foster Dulles4
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 780.022/7–2856. Secret. Drafted by Newsom and Allen. On July 28, Kirk informed Oulashin that action on the Lloyd note was being assigned to the Bureau of Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs. Copies of the note had been forwarded to the Office of the Secretary, the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary, the Counselor, the Policy Planning Staff, and the Bureau of European Affairs. (Ibid,. NEA Files: Lot 61 D 260, Buraimi Dispute 1956—July–Dec.)↩
  2. Document 242.↩
  3. On August 15, in a note to Makins, Elbrick transmitted the Secretary’s reply. (Department of State, NEA Files: Lot 58 D 776, N & ME 55–56) On September 5, in a reply to Dulles, Lloyd thanked the Secretary for the “sympathetic tone” of his August 13 letter and noted, “Although we cannot give away Buraimi, I do not think that this makes an improvement of our relations with the Saudis impossible.” (Ibid., Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204)↩
  4. Printed from a copy that bears this stamped signature.↩