Office of the Historian

641.74/10–2651: Telegram

The Ambassador in Egypt (Caffery) to the Department of State 1

top secret
niact
Cairo, October 26, 1951—3 p. m.

575. Mytel 560 Oct 24.2 Serageddin Pasha, Abboud Pasha, and I explored last night practically all angles of Anglo-Egypt sitn. I counselled him to take it easy in his efforts to harass Brit in Canal [Page 411] Zone. I chided him for frivolous way they had handled our proposals etc., etc.

He exposed at some length Egypt point of view re Brit in gen and recent activities of Brit in Canal Zone in particular, emphasizing the inherent explosive potentialities of stopping fuel oil shipments, that Brit have still not turned tap all the way on as they promised, etc.

We reviewed the def proposals and in the end Serageddin said he wld like to continue these conversations with end in view of finding a reasonable agmt on them, but solely on the condition that something be done about the Sudan.

He insisted on Egypt side that only he and Abboud know about the conversation and he hoped I wld keep them to myself on our side.

Stevenson proceeds tomorrow to Suez (mytel 569 Oct 25)3 in endeavor to persuade Robertson to turn tap all the way (it is now running three-fourths way).

Caffery
  1. Repeated to London, Paris for MacArthur, and Ankara.↩
  2. Not printed; it reported that at the request of Abboud Pasha and Seraggedin, Caffery would dine with them on the evening of October 25 (641.74/10–2451).↩
  3. Not printed.↩