504. Editorial Note

In a letter addressed to Secretary-General Hammarskjöld on November 5, Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union Sobolev asked that the text of a note dated November 4, from the Government of the Soviet Union to the Government of the United Kingdom (similar to one sent to France), be circulated as an official document of the first emergency special session of the U.N. General Assembly. In it, the Soviet Government affirmed that recent French and British actions in the Middle East constituted acts of aggression affecting the interests not only of Egypt, but of other states as well; and it warned that “the responsibility for all the possible consequences of those actions rests with the Governments of the United Kingdom and France.” (U.N. doc. A/3298)

In a separate cable to the President of the Security Council on November 5, Soviet Foreign Minister Shepilov called for an immediate meeting of the Security Council to discuss “the non-compliance by the United Kingdom, France and Israel with the decision of the emergency special session of the General Assembly of the United Nations of 2 November 1956 and immediate steps to halt the aggression of the aforesaid States against Egypt.” Shepilov’s cable also included the text of a draft resolution, which provided, among other points, that it was essential for all member states, especially the United States and the Soviet Union, to give military and other assistance to the Egyptian Republic by sending naval and air forces, military units, volunteers, military instructors, and other forms of assistance, if Great Britain, France, and Israel failed to cease all military action against Egypt within 12 hours of the adoption of the resolution and withdraw their troops from Egyptian soil within 3 days. The letter also noted that the Soviet Government “for its part declares that it is ready to contribute to the cause of curbing the aggressors, of defending the victims of aggression, and of restoring peace, by sending to Egypt the air and naval forces necessary for the achievement of this purpose.” (U.N. doc. S/3736)

The texts of the Soviet letter to the United Kingdom, dated November 4, and Shepilov’s letter to the President of the Security Council, dated November 5, are printed in United States Policy in the Middle East, September 1956–June 1957, pages 169–171 and 178–180, respectively.