Editorial Note

On November 21, the Soviet Union dispatched a Note to the Egyptian Government condemning the proposed establishment of a Middle East Command. Similar notes were sent that day to Lebanon, Iraq, and Israel, and on November 22 to Saudi Arabia and the Yemen. The Soviet Note to Egypt is published in full in Denise Folliot (ed.), Documents on International Affairs, 1951 (Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, 1954), pages 429–431, hereafter cited as Documents (R.I.I.A.) for 1951. The Soviet Note to Saudi Arabia of November 22 is paraphrased in telegram 279 fom Jidda, November 27 (780.5/11–2751).

On November 24, the Soviet Union dispatched Notes to the Governments of the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Turkey condemning the “new aggressive plans, expressed in the establishing of a Middle Eastern Command in an area located not far from the frontiers of the Soviet Union.” The Soviet Note is published in full in Documents (R.I.I.A.) for 1951, pages 432–433.