Office of the Historian

201. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Between the President and the Secretary of State, Washington, July 19, 1958, 4:57 p.m.1

Washington, July 19, 1958, 4:57 p.m.

TELEPHONE CALL TO THE PRESIDENT

The Sec said the 9 prisoners are released.2 He told re the message from Khrushchev.3 The premise is we are committing aggression. We have not received the full text as yet. The Sec’s reaction is negative—he thinks it is a propaganda stunt but we will study it. The Sec had a talk with Malik.4 They are kind of anxious to drag us into this thing in a bigger way—the Sec told him we are not going to do it. We are there for one purpose—the integrity and independence of Lebanon—if that is taken care of then we leave etc. He is seeing the Yugoslav at 55 and then Lloyd at 5:30. He will talk with Lloyd about the message from K and see what his reaction is—and let the Pres know later on.

  1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, White House Telephone Conversations. Transcribed in the Secretary’s office by Phyllis D. Bernau.↩
  2. Apparent reference to the release of a U.S. helicopter crew which had been held for a month in East Germany.↩
  3. See supra.↩
  4. See Document 198.↩
  5. Reference is to the Chargé of the Yugoslav Embassy; the conversation is summarized infra.↩