391. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Arab Republic0
2860. In conjunction with presentation to Nasser on Yemen requested separate telegram,1 you should convey following oral message:
“Mr. President,
Being aware of the scope and the candor that characterized the dialogue between you and President Kennedy, I hope this dialogue may be continued. I also intend to continue the policy of seeking to expand the cooperation between our two countries.
But the continued instability in Yemen confronts our two governments with a serious challenge. I know your often expressed repugnance to Arab fighting Arab, and we too look forward to the creation of circumstances whereby the conflict can be terminated and disengagement carried out. Only through measures to set an independent Yemen Government squarely on its own feet can we reaffirm our common support for the principle of self-determination.
I urge you to accept the sincerity of our counsels, as expressed by us to your Ambassador in Washington, and to you by our Ambassador in Cairo. Let us work together to see if we can continue the closer cooperation which has marked our relations over the past few years.
Lyndon B. Johnson”
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 1 UAR-US. Secret; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Jones and redrafted in the White House by Komer, cleared by Harriman and McKesson, and approved by Talbot. Repeated to Jidda, London, Taiz, and USUN. The Department of State proposed that a Presidential message be sent to Nasser in a memorandum from Read to Bundy, December 12. (Ibid.) A note attached to the memorandum, dated December 23, from Bundy to Read, indicates that the President cleared the draft prepared at the White House.↩
- See Document 392.↩