246. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom1
5881. Eyes only for Ambassador. For your information only text of letter from President to Eden follows. For reasons of urgency letter was given to British Embassy Washington for transmission rather than through normal channel of London Embassy. Importance was emphasized to British Embassy of most careful secure handling to prevent leak.
Begin text. Personal and Confidential April 5, 1956
Dear Anthony: When you were here we mentioned the forthcoming visit to London of our Russian friends, and you were good enough to say that if I had any suggestions to make, you would be glad if I would drop you a line on the subject. I have been giving this matter some thought, but I believe your thinking and mine are so close together on the matters that are likely to come up that any suggestions from me would be superfluous.
Of course, at the back of our minds must be the very grave threat in the Middle East. We are, I think, both of us fully alive to what this could do to the well-being and indeed safety of Western Europe, and most particularly the United Kingdom. Whether or not you bring that up must be for you to decide in light of the circumstances. I fully agree with you that we should not be acquiescent in any measure which would give the Bear’s claws a grip on the production or transportation of the oil which is so vital to the defense and economy of the Western world.
I shall be following your encounter with intense interest, and I hope that it will result in awareness on the part of the Russians of the dangerous nature of the game they seem to be playing.
As ever, DE. End text.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 033.6141/4–556. Confidential; Priority. On April 4, Dulles sent the text of this message to Eisenhower with the recommendation that he approve its transmission to Eden. (Memorandum from Dulles to Eisenhower, April 4; Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Dulles–Herter Series)↩