245. Editorial Note
In London, March 18–20, the heads of the major American and European oil companies held exploratory talks regarding the problems [Page 657] involved in the transport of Middle East oil by new pipelines in the area.
Representatives of the British Embassy in Washington and the Department of State prepared a joint position paper, dated March 16, entitled, “Guarantees for Maintenance of Flow of Middle East Oil Through Pipelines,” for the talks between President Eisenhower and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan at Bermuda, March 20–23. Acknowledging that greater guarantees for oil pipeline operations would be desirable, both governments agreed in this paper to continue to lend appropriate assistance to petroleum transit companies in the defense of their interests under existing transit arrangements and to consider negotiating treaties with transited countries designed to lend stability to new pipeline projects.
At Bermuda on March 23, the President and the Prime Minister agreed that the United States and the United Kingdom would study separately as a matter of urgency “the present situation and probable future developments throughout the Middle East, dealing first with those aspects of the problems bearing upon the supply of oil to the free world” and exchange views based upon these studies on or before April 15. This agreement is outlined in the undated paper entitled “Agreed Position on Study of Middle East Problems,” approved on March 23.
Documentation on these meetings, including texts of the papers cited here, is scheduled for publication in volume XXVII.