219. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs (Rountree) to the Secretary of State1
SUBJECT
- Report of the Richards Mission Visit to Saudi Arabia, April 9–102
Discussion:
During the brief visit of the Richards Mission to Riyadh, King Saud and his Counselors reviewed with Ambassador Richards the broad range of US-Saudi affairs. Special attention was paid to the purposes of the American Doctrine and to the problem of the Gulf of Aqaba. Ambassador Richards also noted in his general comments (Tab A)3 that Buraimi and the old issues of Zionism and imperialism also loomed large in Saudi Arabian thinking.
The King stressed his warm friendship for the United States and his strong opposition to Communism (Tab B). He inquired how the United States would define those countries which were under the domination of International Communism, and asked particularly about Syria. Ambassador Richards replied that such a determination would be left to the good judgment of the President, and pointed out that no governments had asked the U.S. for help against Syria. The [Page 496] King demonstrated his support for the Doctrine by reporting that he had attempted to pave the way for the Richards Mission in Yemen by sending a Royal Counselor with a personal message to the Iman (Tab B).
The King stated firmly that he would never consent to recognizing the Gulf of Aqaba as an international waterway and would not agree to the transit of Israeli ships. The King said he would have no part in any reference of the matter to the International Court of Justice and insisted that the Gulf of Aqaba is an Arab sea. Ambassador Richards presented at some length the U.S. position on this matter (Tab B).
As had been agreed upon previously, Ambassador Richards advised the Saudi Arabian Government in an aide-mémoire of the U.S. willingness to provide up to $20 million for expansion of the Port of Dammam (Tab C). The Saudi Arabians regarded this as not related to the new American Doctrine and as simply a part of the earlier agreement concluded in Washington.
Comments:
The communiqué issued on April 11 (Tab D)4 reaffirms the policy of the February 7 communiqué in Washington and asserts an intention to continue to oppose Communist activity. Sheikh Yusuf Yasin, however, agreed to this language only if the communiqué included also reference to “other forms of imperialsim,” which were understood by the Saudis to include Zionism.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 120.1580/5–1057. Secret. Drafted by Bliss. Also addressed to the Under Secretary of State.↩
- For documentation on the Richards Mission visit to Saudi Arabia, see vol. XIII, pp. 489–494.↩
- None of the tabs was attached to the source text.↩
- For text of the joint communiqué issued on April 11 in Riyadh, see Department of State Bulletin, May 6, 1957, p. 731.↩