217. Memorandum of a Conversation, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York, August 14, 19581
SUBJECT
- Situation in the Middle East
PARTICIPANTS
- Dr. Mahmoud Fawzi, UAR Foreign Minister
- The Secretary
- Mr. Rountree
- Mr. Bergus
Dr. Fawzi referred to Mr. Murphy’s recent talk with President Nasser2 and said that after an initial period of groping, the conversation had “sailed”. He hoped that Mr. Murphy had brought back the impression of the complete frankness of that discussion. The Secretary felt that it had been a useful conversation. He said that there had also come the impression that President Nasser believed that the Secretary had a personal unfriendliness toward him. The Secretary wished to dissipate such an impression. First of all, it was not true. Furthermore, it would be criminal to operate governments on the basis of personal likes and dislikes. Were this the case, the U.S. would not have taken actions favorable to Egypt and the UAR which were unfavorable to [Page 473] countries with which we had had long and friendly relations. It was the Secretary’s ambition to leave the world more devoted to principle in the conduct of international affairs. The Secretary felt this was a critical moment because we could not countenance methods which, if generally prevalent, would bring the world to chaos and perhaps even war. This was perhaps the basic difference between us. The UAR felt it was legitimate to use methods which we felt were dangerous. This was, however, a difference of principle and not a personal one. The Secretary had the highest regard and respect for President Nasser who was an extremely able man. He was not surprised that the Arabs looked up to President Nasser. The Secretary wished to get on to a basis of good relations. As President Eisenhower had said yesterday,3 unification, if it took place as a result of the will of the people concerned, could and should be accomplished through peaceful processes.
Dr. Fawzi said he could not take exception to the Secretary’s remarks. The impression that President Nasser felt that the Secretary disliked him personally was not accurate.
[Here follows discussion of the situation in Jordan.]
- Source: Department of State, NEA Files: Lot 61 D 59, Egypt—General. Secret. Drafted by Bergus. The source text indicates the conversation took place in the Secretary’s suite. Dulles and Fawzi were in New York for the third emergency session of the U.N. General Assembly.↩
- Supra.↩
- For text of the President’s address to the General Assembly, August 13, see American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1958, pp. 1032–1039.↩