306. Memorandum of Telephone Conversation Between Secretary of State Rusk and the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow)1

TELEPHONE CALL FROM W ROSTOW

[Omitted here is discussion of an unrelated matter.]

R said he had had an interesting talk with Bob Anderson. A was seeing the Arabs in town. He saw Shamaz in Beirut and the consensus was among the Fon Mins that they were prepared to recognize the state of Israel. They don’t want to say this as a collective group. They are prepared to have Sinai demilitarized, they cannot live with a totally Israeli Jerusalem; they are worried about Jordan. The main appeal was that this statement of the Pres get as much territorial integrity into it as possible. Nasser is in deep trouble and is sending only Fawzi—an errand boy. Libya, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in trouble. The French and Russians are trying to get hold of US and Brit economic interests. They hate the Russians. Suez is thorny. Their problem is mob rule. He thinks if you can negotiate and put an end to belligerence it is tantamount to recognize Israel as a state. Sec asked if this would be secretly and bilaterally with each one and announced together? R said Anderson said he didn’t want to get in our way but R said he was sure the Pres and the SecState wanted him to sit and listen. R said McPherson was with him now and they were pulling together what Bundy and Rostow (Gene) were doing.

  1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192, Telephone Calls. No classification marking. The notes were prepared by Mildred J. Asbjornson, Rusk’s secretary.