874.00 TA/11–1853: Telegram
No. 1248
The Ambassador in the United
Kingdom (Aldrich) to the Department of
State1
2135. For the Secretary. At his request I saw Eden late yesterday. He handed me following reply to message contained Deptel 2603, November 13:
“I must most urgently ask you to postpone a decision on proposed economic aid to Egypt at least until we have had a chance of discussing it at Bermuda.2
In my view an allotment to Egypt at this juncture could not fail to give publicity to a major divergence of British and American policies, and thus to have a serious effect on Anglo-American relations. It would have the appearance of encouraging the Egyptians to stand out in their demands against us and it would remove an important inducement to them to reach an agreement with us”.
Report on conversation in following telegram.3
- Repeated to Cairo as telegram 562.↩
- The Bermuda Conference of the Heads of Government of the United States, United Kingdom, and France, which had been postponed in June 1953, was rescheduled and held Dec. 4–8. Both Secretary of State Dulles and Foreign Secretary Eden were present for the meetings. Regarding the conference, see telegram 638 to Cairo, Dec. 9, infra, and telegram 649 to Cairo, Document 1250. For additional documentation, see vol. V, Part 2, pp. 1710 ff.↩
- Not printed.↩