363. Editorial Note
Throughout September and October, amidst Syrian and Soviet accusations that Turkish troops, with the support of the United States, were concentrating on the Syrian border in an effort to topple the Syrian regime, Turkish-Syrian relations reached a new low, which threatened a new crisis in the Middle East. In a letter of September 10 to Turkish Prime Minister Menderes, Bulganin alleged that Turkey, in cooperation with the United States, was preparing an attack on Syria. Responding to the Soviet letter, Menderes denied the accusations charging that the Soviets were using the Syrian question for their own ends. In an October 9 interview with the New York Times, Khrushchev accused Secretary Dulles of provoking Turkey to attack Syria. The following day the Department of State denied the Soviet charges. Finally on October 16, during a press conference, Dulles noted that if the Soviet Union attacked Turkey the United States would not confine itself to a “purely defensive operation.” (Department of State Bulletin, November 4, 1957, pages 708–714)
The verbal assaults between the United States, the Soviet Union, Turkey, and Syria were accompanied by military and diplomatic maneuvers. On September 21, a Soviet naval squadron visited the Syrian port of Latakia; on October 5 the United States guided-missile carrier Canberra and other Sixth Fleet vessels arrived in Izmir. On October 13, it was announced in Cairo and Damascus that troops were being sent to Latakia to support the Syrian defense effort. Moreover, the Syrian Foreign Minister brought the matter to the attention of the United Nations requesting on October 16 that the General Assembly place the issue on its agenda. After considerable discussion between October 22 and 30, the General Assembly agreed to take no further action. Syria and Turkey agreed.