255. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, January 25, 19571
SUBJECT
- British Relations with Saudi Arabia
PARTICIPANTS
- Sir Harold Caccia, Ambassador British Embassy
- Herbert Hoover, Jr., Under Secretary
- Marselis C. Parsons, Jr., Director, BNA
- Edwin G. Moline, RA
After concluding his discussion of the problem of oil supplies for Britain (see separate memorandum2) Ambassador Caccia who called at his request upon the Under Secretary today, said he wished to discuss current relations between Saudi Arabia and Britain.
The Ambassador said that his Government continued ready to discuss boundary problems with Saudi Arabia including Buraimi and six or seven other issues but was unwilling to confine itself to discussions on Buraimi or even to agree to place Buraimi specifically at the head of the list of problems for discussion. He believed that the Saudi position was to keep on insisting that the Buraimi question be settled before proceeding to take up other problems.
Mr. Hoover presented the U.S. view that a settlement of British disputes with Saudi Arabia would have a beneficial effect in advancing Western influence in the Middle East. He suggested that once British-Saudi relations had been normalized it might be profitable to consider … Saudi Arabia as a counter weight to Egypt… . The Ambassador indicated his Government’s views leaned more toward the ultimate adherence of Saudi Arabia to the Baghdad Pact than … Saudi Arabia as a counter focal point to Egypt.
The Ambassador said that if talks could be initiated with Saudi Arabia, designed to cover all boundary questions, his Government would be disposed to propose a treaty delineating the borders now under dispute. He pointed out that one of the difficulties was that the British Government had certain protective responsibilities over peoples and territories claimed by Saudi Arabia. Both he and the Under Secretary agreed that any declaration of intent or other instrument short of an agreed treaty would be unsatisfactory in solving these territorial issues.
[Page 413]The Under Secretary referred to a previous request of the Ambassador that the US Government consider a guarantee of any solution involving UK-Saudi agreement on boundaries. The Under Secretary pointed out that such a guarantee would have to be in the form of a treaty which might be unsuccessful in passing the Senate primarily because of the lack of a similar treaty with Israel. The Ambassador said that Her Majesty’s Government did not feel that an executive statement expressing “grave concern” would suffice in lieu of the guarantee.