Office of the Historian

412. Memorandum of Conversation1

SecDel/MC/49
New York, October 7, 1966, 4–5 p.m.

SECRETARY’S DELEGATION TO THE TWENTY-FIRST SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

New York, September-October 1966

SUBJECT

  • Yemen (Part III of IV)

PARTICIPANTS

  • U.S
    • The Secretary
    • Mr. William L. Simmons, NEA
  • U.A.R.
    • H.E. Mahmoud Riad, Minister for Foreign Affairs
    • H.E. Dr. Mostafa Kamel, Ambassador to the United States
    • H.E. Mohamed Riad, Counsellor, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cabinet Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Secretary asked about prospects for success of the Kuwaiti mediation effort on Yemen. The Foreign Minister said that the sticking point related to the withdrawal of the royal family. The U.A.R. position is that the family should be withdrawn when half of the U.A.R. troops in Yemen are pulled out. The Saudi posture is that all troops must first be withdrawn. U.A.R. public opinion makes this completely unacceptable. The Saudis apparently fear that should the royal family leave Yemen, the U.A.R. would fail to complete its part of the agreement. This was unrealistic since the U.A.R. was asking only that the royal family leave Yemen and not asking for the family’s exile to Africa or the Far East.

The Minister said that he had been informed by the Kuwaitis that the Saudis had accepted the proposed composition of the new YARG, i.e. three-fifths Republicans, two-fifths Royalists. The Foreign Minister said that troop withdrawal would begin at the moment the new government is established. He said that the points of dispute are trifling and if the Saudis were willing an agreement could be signed immediately.

  1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964-66, POL 27 YEMEN. Secret. Drafted by Simmons on October 11 and approved in S on October 25.↩