Editorial Note
On October 10, Secretary Acheson released a statement to the press in which he confirmed the action of the Egyptian Chamber of Deputies (Parliament) abrogating the 1899 and 1936 Anglo-Egyptian agreements regarding the Sudan and Suez, adding:
“None of the agreements in question provides for abrogation. The U.S. Government believes that proper respect for international obligations [Page 398] requires that they be altered by mutual agreement rather than by unilateral action of one of the parties. Furthermore, it should be noted that procedures wholly in accord with such respect for international commitments have already been set in motion.”
Acheson closed his statement with the observation that new proposals to the Egyptian Government had been formulated over the past several months and “were to be presented to it within the next few days. It is the belief of the United States that a solution to the Anglo-Egyptian question can be found through these proposals.” The complete text of Acheson’s statement, from which the above excerpts have been taken, is in the Department of State Bulletin, October 22, 1951, page 647.