374. Report Prepared in the Executive Secretariat of the Department of State1
SUMMARY OF DEVELOPMENTS IN SUEZ SITUATION
Hammarskjold Letter to Fawzi on Implementation of Cooperation2
Hammarskjold has given us and the British and French a letter which he intends to send Egyptian Foreign Minister Fawzi. In it the Secretary General sums up his understanding of the sense of the private talks which took place in New York and elaborates on the question of implementation of the principle of organized cooperation.
[Page 778]The letter states that this cooperation obviously requires an organ on the Egyptian side, presumably the Canal authority, and a “representation” of the users which is recognized by the Canal authority and the Egyptian government. Provision should be made for joint meetings, with the users’ representation entitled to raise all matters affecting the users’ rights or interests but in such a way as not to interfere with the administrative functions of the operating organ. Arrangements should be made for fact-finding, reconciliation, recourse to appropriate juridical settlement of possible disputes, and guarantees for execution of the results of reconciliation or juridical settlement. Such fact-finding and reconciliation might be provided by a standing joint organ. In the case of unresolved differences, recourse should be possible to some standing local arbitration organ or to the ICJ, Security Council, or whatever UN organ might be established. The parties should recognize any award made by the arbitration organ as binding and undertake to carry them out in good faith. Any non-compliance should be registered by the arbitration organ, with both sides entitled to certain limited “police action” under certain circumstances, even without recourse to further juridical procedures.
The letter concludes that, if no objection in principle is seen to such arrangements as those described, it would appear from a legal and technical point of view, without raising political considerations, that the framework is “sufficiently wide to make a further exploration of a possible basis for negotiations …3 worth trying.”
Egyptian Views on Suez Negotiations
The British Ambassador in Cairo has informed Hare4 that Fawzi told him Egypt wants to get down to direct negotiation on the Suez issue. Fawzi deplored British-French moves which he viewed as seemingly designed to impede progress. In this connection he cited the Security Council resolution which he thought was “unsportsmanlike” after prior agreement on the Six Principles. He felt that insistence on Egyptian submission of a detailed plan was like demanding the final draft of the treaty before beginning negotiations. The Egyptian government, Fawzi told the British Ambassador, continues to desire to act constructively and had accepted Hammarskjold’s invitation to meet with the British and French at Geneva on October 29. Fawzi gave the British Ambassador the impression that Egypt is more interested in negotiations under Hammarskjold’s auspices than in proceeding through Indian mediation. The British [Page 779] Ambassador also told Hare that he had some reason to believe the Egyptians did in fact submit specific proposals to Hammarskjold in accepting the Geneva invitation.
[Here follows a report concerning the proposed staff for the Administrator of SCUA.]
Mollet Comments on US Policy5
In a speech last night at the official French farewell dinner for General Gruenther, Mollet placed his main emphasis on the importance of common global policies. Referring specifically to Suez, Mollet balanced his reference to French “bitterness” over certain hesitations and fluctuations of US policy with mention of the “immense importance” of the fact that ever since the first London conference the United States government “has been and remains in complete agreement with us as to the objectives to be attained.”
Suez Transits
Consulate Port Said, reporting on the daily pattern of Canal traffic, states that one convoy each way transited the Canal on Sunday. The northbound convoy consisted of 22 vessels, including 11 tankers; 14 ships were in the southbound group. The total, therefore, was 36. There is no backlog.
(Summary closed 1:00 p.m., October 25, 1956)
- Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, International File. Top Secret; Eyes Only for Designated Recipient.↩
- On November 3, this letter was circulated to members of the Security Council as Annex I to a report by Hammarskjöld, entitled “Exchange of Correspondence between the Secretary-General and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt”. (U.N. doc. S/37/28) The text of the letter was transmitted to the Department of State in telegram 396 from USUN, October 24. (Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/10–2456) For text of the letter, see United States Policy in the Middle East, September 1956–June 1957, pp. 127–130.↩
- Ellipsis in the source text.↩
- Reported in telegram 1156 from Cairo, October 24, not printed. (Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/10–2456)↩
- Reported in telegram 1903 from Paris, October 23, not printed. (Ibid., 611.51/10–2356)↩