159. Memorandum of Conversation1
PARTICIPANTS
- King Khalid Sultan ibn’Abd al-Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia
- Prince Fahd Sultan ibn’Abd al-Aziz Al Saud Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
- Prince Sultan Sultan ibn’Abd al-Aziz Al Saud Minister of Defense and Aviation of Saudi Arabia
- Prince Abdallah Sultan ibn’Abd al-Aziz Al Saud Second Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
- Prince Saud ibn Faysal Al Saud, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia
- Ahmad Zaki Yamani, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Wealth of Saudi Arabia
- Royal Counsellor Pharon
- Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, Secretary of State and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
- Ambassador James E. Akins, U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
- Mr. Joseph J. Sisco, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
- Mr. Winston Lord, Director, Policy Planning Staff, Department of State
- Mr. Robert B. Oakley, NSC Staff
- Mr. Isa K. Sabbagh, Special Assistant to Ambassador Akins
Kissinger: I want to thank Your Majesty for a very warm welcome. Your hospitality is always so generous.
Khalid: I hope you are not too tired. Is it safe to say you are by now used to such a hectic pace? The papers and radio are saying that you have travelled tens of thousands of miles just to get 8 miles for Egypt, but it is more than 8 if you measure it from Alexandria.
Kissinger: It is really about 50 kilometers if you measure from the Suez Canal to the new Israeli line.
Khalid: We thank God that your mission succeeded.
Kissinger: I thank Your Majesty for your very warm reception. It is typical of the Kingdom.
Khalid: We wish you could stay for a rest. The climate in Taif is very invigorating, although it can become unsettled, even with showers, in the afternoon.
[Page 535]Kissinger: As I told His Highness, Prince Fahd, we are grateful that progress has been made but it is only a first step in the progress which must lead to an overall settlement. For the past 48 hours my colleagues and I have had almost no sleep because we were constantly going back and forth from Israel to Egypt to pin down the negotiations. As I said to His Highness, the only smiling faces we have seen have been in Arab countries, not in Israel.
Khalid: We have a bedouin expression that this kind of fatigue shall produce a good result because it comes from a good effort. We all hope this is a step in the right direction and that the next step will have still greater progress.
Kissinger: We shall try to get another agreement on the Syrian front. We will make a significant effort even though the problem is extremely difficult.
Khalid: We hope you do not turn your back on the Syrians, or on the Palestinians, either. If you ignore those who own the territory, there is no possibility of a solution. You must not ignore Jerusalem, either.
Kissinger: I said last night in both Jerusalem and Alexandria that this is only a step and that the U.S. will continue to participate in the process of moving toward peace. President Ford made the same point very strongly in announcing the Agreement. I will ask our Ambassador to send Your Majesty a text of our President’s statement.
Khalid: I hope that upon your return to Washington, you will see to the supply of the arms they need for Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Pakistan. Of course, Prince Sultan wants our needs to be met first, but we must also worry about the others. They have legitimate needs and they are all fighting against Communism.
Kissinger: We agree. They need to be helped. It is in our own national interest. I have had preliminary discussions on this with Sadat.
Khalid: Turkey is very important strategically since it guards the Bosphorus and the entrance to the Mediterranean.
Kissinger: The Congressional decision on Turkish arms was one of the most short-sighted ever taken by a legislative body. We shall request a change in the law when Congress returns and I think we have a good chance of getting it through this month.
Khalid: Turkey is really more important to you than to us.
Kissinger: That is true. Jordan is also a problem with Congress and we will try to get a favorable decision on HAWKs for Jordan this month.
Khalid: Pakistan is facing two deadly enemies on its borders—India and USSR. They need your support.
Kissinger: But the Pakistanis have no money. The problem is not with us. We have removed the embargo.
[Page 536]Khalid: Treat them gently. They are your friends.
Kissinger: I have the impression that someone has been talking to Your Majesty about this.
Khalid: Let them pay in installments. We and Iran are the only countries in the area who could help but we have set aside money for so many projects. Instead of giving wheat to the Soviets, help your friends.
Kissinger: The Soviets pay in cash and if Yamani does not behave we will make them pay in oil.
Khalid: You have an obligation to help the Pakistanis. They have had floods and disasters. Treat them gently.
Kissinger: I am an admirer of Bhutto.
Khalid: He spoke well of you and said he had received a letter from you just before coming to us.
Kissinger: I told him about the status of the negotiations. I like him very much.
Khalid: He is a good man. He speaks well.
Kissinger: We worked very closely with him following the 1971 Indo-Pak War, in which we helped the Pakistanis.
Khalid: The Pakistanis need more help. You must help them.
Fahd: They are having a problem with Afghanistan. We have talked to both the Paks and the Afghans about this and hope we can bring them all to oppose Communism.
Khalid: We are doing something of vital importance together. You take care of Turkey and Pakistan. We will take care of Jordan and Egypt.
Kissinger: We will take another look at Pakistan and work on Turkey. We received a very unfriendly note today from the Soviets on the Agreement.
Khalid: That is why we do not wish them in the area.
Kissinger: They want to participate in all activities related to a settlement. We are very grateful to you for having received us. I wish the Kingdom and Your Majesty every success. Despite what the press may say, U.S. policy is to have the closest possible relations with Saudi Arabia.
Khalid: This is the impression conveyed to us by your Ambassador and it has been the same policy for many years. You must see this the way we do.
Kissinger: You can count on us.
Khalid: We don’t want Sultan to be annoyed, so don’t forget about our arms. We pay cash and we need arms as friends.
Kissinger: We are not used to dealing with countries that can pay cash but I think I brought some good news to Sultan and I think we solved most, if not all, our problems.
[Page 537]Khalid: Under Secretary of Defense Clements and General Brown told us not to worry but it is up to you to get Congress to act.
Kissinger: I think we now have a procedure which will solve problems of this kind.
Khalid: We want you and President Ford to stay on until the whole Middle East problem is solved.
Kissinger: We are committed to a just and lasting peace. President Ford said it yesterday and I said it at press conferences in both Egypt and Israel. We are determined to succeed. I think Ford has a good chance of being elected.
Summary: Kissinger met with King Khalid to discuss the status of Arab-Israeli peace negotiations.
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Kissinger Reports on U.S.S.R., China, and Middle East Discussions, 1974–76, Box 5, Middle East Memcons and Reports, 1975, Folder 8/21–9/1/75, Sinai Disengagement Agreement, Volume III (9). Secret; Nodis. The meeting took place at Khalid’s residence in Ta’if. Kissinger stopped briefly in Ta’if to brief Khalid on the Middle East peace process after attending the signing of the second Egyptian-Israeli disengagement agreement in Jerusalem on September 1.
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