865C.01/5–2649: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Acting Secretary of State
2164. From Secretary. Bevin called on me this morning.1 [Here follow sections on Cyrenaica, printed in volume IV, page 557, and on Greece, printed in footnote 2, page 342.]
Bevin then took up question of shipment of arms to Egypt and other Arab states noting Israel gets all it wants and Arabs can buy from [Page 1058] Czechs if British do not fulfill existing contracts. He said they were planning to go ahead with de jure recognition of Israel and then announce they would fulfill their arms contracts with Arabs. He dwelt particularly on troubled situation in Egypt, and their need to train Egyptian air force. I suggested they should take up propriety particular shipments with Bunche and informed him concerning our general thinking this problem. Bevin then took up situation of Arab refugees, hinting that Israeli intransigence might be due our encouragement. I told him about my talks with Sharett and of my and President’s talks with Weizmann stating emphatically we had taken strong lines on refugees and frontiers in which we had been far from encouraging them. Bevin said that they had rumors of possible renewed Jewish aggression. He then handed me elaborate paper on possible settlement Arab refugees in various Arab states which I am forwarding air pouch. He said he would not put this forward officially but hoped their thinking could be combined with ours. I told him we also had detailed plan under consideration in Washington.
I indicated to Bevin we would communicate our views to him on these several points.
- Messrs. Acheson and Bevin were attending the Sixth Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers which met at Paris beginning May 23.↩