Foreign Relations of the United States, 1949, The Near East, South Asia, and Africa, Volume VI

501.BB Palestine/7–2549

The Secretary of State to the Egyptian Chargé (Chiati)

The Secretary of State presents his compliments to the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of Egypt and refers to the Embassy’s notes of June 10, 1949¹ and July 25, 1949, in which the question of the removal of the Security Council’s Arms Embargo was raised. In these notes the Egyptian Government took the position that its restrictions on the movement of air and sea transport to Israel “had been imposed for no other reason than to insure that the ships and planes enroute to Israel via Egypt did not carry armaments or war material to the Zionists as contraband in defiance of the Security Council’s decisions.”

As the Egyptian Government is aware, following the conclusion of the Syrian Israeli armistice the Acting Mediator submitted his final report to the Security Council² and that body has relieved him of his functions. At the same time the Security Council took action which in effect removed the arms embargo imposed by its resolutions of May 29 and July 15, 1948.

It is therefore evident that the obstacles which the Egyptian Government found to the removal of its restrictions no longer exist, and it is assumed that immediate steps will be taken to remove the various restrictions which have been imposed since the outbreak of hostilities in Palestine. It is felt that such action will be a constructive step towards the restoration of normal conditions in the area.³

Washington, August 12, 1949.

1. Not printed; but see telegram 573, June 11, to Cairo, p. 1115. In an attached memorandum of August 12 to Mr. McGhee, Gordon H. Mattison, Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs, noted that “The drafting of a reply to the notes of June 10 and July 25, 1949 from the Egyptian Embassy was delayed in order to take full advantage of Dr. Bunche’s proposal to the Security Council that the ‘truce resolutions involving the arms embargo be removed.”
2. Dated July 21; see editorial note, p. 1240.
3. Mr. McGhee handed this note to Dr. Chiati on August 12 and stated that “the Department felt that Egypt would act in accordance with the Embassy’s note of June 10, 1949 and lift the shipping restrictions which allegedly had been continued in effect because of the arms embargo. Mr. McGhee emphasized the fact that the United States had supported the removal of the Security Council’s resolutions which had included the arms embargo. He pointed out that the removal of shipping restrictions by Egypt would be a constructive step toward normal relations in the Near East area.” (memorandum of conversation by Stuart D. Nelson of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs, 501.BB Palestine/8–1249)

   The substance of the note of August 12 was conveyed to Arab capitals, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem in a circular telegram of August 16, 4 a. m., and to Bern for Mr. Porter in telegram 1144, August 18, 8 p. m. (501.BB Palestine/8–1649, 8–1849).