476. Memorandum From the Secretary of State’s Special Assistant (Russell) to the Secretary of State1
Washington, July 19,
1956.
SUBJECT
- Contact with Ambassador Hussein this Morning
- 1.
- He asserts on his personal honor that any belief that the Soviets have not made a firm offer on the Aswan Dam is without any foundation. Shepilov made an offer to Nasser and it is “frighteningly good.”
- 2.
- Nasser is “hell-bent” to go ahead with the Aswan project. He feels that it is a firm political commitment he has made to the Egyptian people.
- 3.
- Nasser is very much
worried about accepting the Soviet offer for the following reasons:
- a.
- He is concerned over the growth of pro-Soviet sentiment in Egypt. In the moving picture houses after Shepilov’s visit, when newsreels were shown of Shepilov and also of Nasser, Shepilov got much more applause than Nasser did.
- b.
- The Soviets have not kept their word to him with respect to secrecy on the offer which they made on the Aswan Dam.
- c.
- A number of his close advisers who have previously been urging him to accept Soviet arms and other forms of Soviet cooperation are now beginning to be worried over Egypt’s position as between the West and the Soviet world.
- 4.
- Hussein personally … hopes that we can keep our offer open and then convert the undertaking into something more practicable.
- 5.
- Hussein asserts on his word of honor and without any equivocation or condition that if the US–UK–IBRD offer is not made firm, Nasser will accept the Soviet offer.
- Source: Department of State, NEA Files: Lot 59 D 518, Omega—Memos, etc. fr July 1 to August 31, 1956. Secret.↩