300. Memorandum of a Conversation Between the Secretary of State and the British Representative at the United Nations (Dixon), New York, September 23, 19551
At 11:30 at the UN General Assembly, Sir Pierson Dixon said that he had had word from Harold Macmillan that he thought our two governments should immediately make, preferably jointly, strong protest to the Government of Egypt against its reported large purchase of Soviet arms. He said Macmillan felt that we should point out that this was not merely an incident, but would mark a basic change in relations. He thought we should do this at the earliest possible moment. He read me a copy of a memorandum on the subject, which he said he thought had been sent to the British Embassy in Washington and which was probably now before the State Department.2
I said I was not certain of the desirability of this approach and would want to talk about it in Washington before making a decision. I asked what Macmillan had thought about my suggestion made through Nutting that the three Ministers should jointly present the matter to Molotov when we meet with him next week in New York.3
Dixon seemed unaware of this suggestion, and indicated that Macmillan’s message did not deal with it. He said he would communicate further with Macmillan.
Later during the proceedings, I gave Dixon to read, but not to retain, the annexed memorandum which I had received through Jernegan,—being a . . . report of the details of the presumed arms deal.4
- Source: Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, General Memoranda of Conversation. Secret; Personal and Private. Drafted by Dulles.↩
- No copy of such a memorandum has been found in Department of State files.↩
- See Document 297.↩
- Attached to a copy of this memorandum of conversation in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 60 D 627,CF 543, is a handwritten note from Jernegan to Dulles summarizing the contents of Armstrong’s memorandum,infra.↩