109. Memorandum of Conversation1
SUBJECT
- Call by the Secretary of State on Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia
PARTICIPANTS
- His Royal Highness Prince Fahd ibn Abd al-Aziz al Saud, Second Deputy Prime Minister
- His Excellency Mohamed Ibrahim Masoud, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
- His Excellency Ibrahim Al-Sowayel, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia
- The Secretary
- Joseph J. Sisco, Under Secretary for Political Affairs
- Sidney Sober, Acting Assistant Secretary, NEA
- Isa Sabbagh, Interpreter
The Secretary called on Prince Fahd for the first conversation of Prince Fahd’s official visit to Washington.
Secretary Kissinger: I think the work we do here in the next several days can be of considerable significance. We can’t treat you here as well as you were able to take care of us in Saudi Arabia, but we will do the best we can.
Prince Fahd: Whatever we Saudis can do—our generosity—is incumbent on us to do for our friends. We have witnessed only warmth here. Transcending that, we feel ourselves among friends. I felt it from the moment the plane landed.
Secretary Kissinger: Even with Sisco there?
Prince Fahd: He is an old friend.
Secretary Kissinger: I told Asad that Sisco was trying to take my job. It made him a hero in their eyes.
Prince Fahd: Not many people would like to be in Dr. Kissinger’s job. You have had difficult work.
Secretary Kissinger: But it is very exciting to have a chance to help bring peace to the Middle East. I wanted to tell His Royal Highness how much we appreciated the great contribution by His Majesty to our efforts.
[Page 387]Prince Fahd: There is no doubt we have a reciprocity of feelings with our friends in America. We feel the need to look for something beneficial in the area. Now we have seen first steps.
Secretary Kissinger: The first Arab leader I spoke to on this matter was your Foreign Minister, at the UN. He asked me, even before the war, to get involved. I said I would, but I didn’t then know how quickly it would be.
Prince Fahd: No doubt what happened expedited the process.
Secretary Kissinger: No doubt. What happened was not possible without the war.
Prince Fahd: The obstacles ahead will require even greater efforts. I urge you to walk steadily ahead with firm steps.
Secretary Kissinger: I agree. That’s our intention. We are determined to keep moving.
Prince Fahd: I was very pleased to hear statements by President Asad and his Foreign Minister. The counter-efforts in Syria to what you are trying to do were very powerful.
Secretary Kissinger: That’s right. I believe the USSR and maybe Iraq, and also Libya, pursued a negative role.
Prince Fahd: Of course those elements would do their utmost to whip up people and try to cause Dr. Kissinger to fail. But other Arab leaders did just the opposite.
Secretary Kissinger: That’s clear to us. We know Saudi Arabia exercised a very beneficial influence.
Prince Fahd: I mentioned that general subject to Secretary Rogers. Sisco was present. When President Sadat took over he showed an intention to turn over a new role. But circumstances didn’t permit.
Secretary Kissinger: We didn’t understand Sadat correctly. And conditions in Israel were not right. Your visit here can be of great significance. It can help establish good relations between the United States and the Arab states broadly. We are beginning a similar process with Egypt, one step behind Saudi Arabia. In time, we will do the same with Syria and Algeria.
Prince Fahd: Dr. Kissinger knows conditions in Syria and Egypt are different—more complicated in Syria. In Syria, for example, there are a recognized Communist Party, Palestinians, Baathists who favor Iraq, and Qadafi’s entrance into the picture by supporting elements against peace. I believe the recent step in Syria has strong support, and that Asad can find support for future steps. But we can’t forget that other elements will try to keep Asad from this golden opportunity.
We in Saudi Arabia feel strongly that the Soviet Union is trying a pincer movement around us and the Gulf. There is Iraq in the north; [Page 388] in the south, South Yemen. One indication is that they are receiving Soviet arms far beyond their needs. What for? It is foolish to say Iraq is arming only against Iran; therefore, it must be against Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. Iraq realizes it can’t do anything if Saudi Arabia is strong. We sense from our Arab brethren their desire to get closer to Saudi Arabia because we have no designs on them. Even Kuwait, which tries to emphasize its self-sufficiency, turns to Saudi Arabia at the first sign of a threat. My conviction is the stronger Saudi Arabia is, the more it can contribute to stability in the region.
Secretary Kissinger: It is our firm view that a strong Saudi Arabia is in the interest of the United States and will contribute to peace and stability in the area. The United States would never be indifferent to any threat to the Kingdom from the north or the south. We look with favor on Saudi Arabia’s playing a stabilizing role in the Gulf. We count on it to play that role. In your meetings at the Defense Department tomorrow, you will find your requests are well received. If not, let me know. There are no problems—(jocularly) except Sisco’s normal problems.
Prince Fahd: I am very pleased to hear this from Dr. Kissinger.
Secretary Kissinger: I have instructed my associates. Your visit is of signal importance, not only to the United States but to our relations with the entire Arab world. I am sure you will find the President expressing the same sentiments. As you are our oldest friend in the Arab world, it is right that we should make our first new special effort with Saudi Arabia. It can be an example to all other Arab countries as well.
Prince Fahd: It is very pleasing to Saudi Arabia to hear this. It will give me double pleasure to convey this to King Faisal.
Back to the Gulf: we in Saudi Arabia have no desire to expand our own area, in the Gulf or elsewhere. That’s why our Gulf brethren are at ease. We have no thought of aggressing against anyone, nor of using arms against anyone. Rather it is our intent to bring about stability. When Iraq or others realize Saudi Arabia is strong, they will think twice.
Secretary Kissinger: We have confidence in the stabilizing role of the Kingdom. We have no hesitation in meeting its needs.
Prince Fahd: It is nowhere in our policy that we will aggress. We need stability in the area. Iraq may want to swallow up Kuwait, or open the way to external Communists; we have no such desire. I will mention one incident. Two days after Iraq attacked Kuwait, South Yemen sent planes to bomb Saudi Arabia. We concluded they wanted tension in Saudi Arabia, and in the south, so that we would be unable to help Kuwait in the north. King Faisal realized that the South Yemen action was intended as a diversion to take attention away from Iraq. [Page 389] He therefore ordered that we not pay too much attention to the South Yemeni bombing raids because we did not want to satisfy Iraq.
Secretary Kissinger: As I told His Majesty, we want to work in the closest cooperation with the Kingdom on South Yemen policy.
Prince Fahd: There is no doubt we should stay in constant touch on matters of bilateral interest and on Arab matters.
Secretary Kissinger: Is His Highness pleased with the program we have arranged for him here?
Prince Fahd: Yes, it is excellent.
Secretary Kissinger: If His Highness permits, I will plan to call on him Friday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. to review where we stand. I hope His Highness will allow me to accompany him to the plane as he departs. We will also have a chance to meet in his call on the President, in our general meeting, and at dinner.
Prince Fahd: I am very thankful. My visit here stems from a mutual desire to see how our interests can be strengthened.
Secretary Kissinger: At this moment, I have in my office all the people working on your visit to insure they don’t drown you in paper. If you feel a need to make any change in the program here, let me know.
Prince Fahd: We should review our military and civil interests. The main point in the visit is that we should come up with good tangible results in our common interest.
Secretary Kissinger: That is exactly our intention.
Prince Fahd: I am very pleased to meet you once more. I sincerely believe the Saudi people, and I hope the American people, look forward to something good from this visit. I am glad to meet the “man of the hour.” It is so unusual to meet a person of such stamina and ability.
Secretary Kissinger: It is a special pleasure for me to deal with the Arab people.
Prince Fahd: We have a saying about there being one Man in a Century, with a sense of justice and inexhaustible energy. I wish great success to the man who has crowned a spell of intensive effort with a happy wedding. We have a saying that a wife can be of tremendous help to her husband.
Secretary Kissinger: The Ambassador has invited wives to his dinner. My wife is looking forward to the occasion.
The meeting ended with some more social talk on the subject of wives.
Summary: Kissinger met with Prince Fahd upon the latter’s arrival in Washington.
Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box CL 207, Geopolitical File, Saudi Arabia, April 30–June 5, 1974. Secret; Nodis. Drafted by Sober. The meeting took place at Blair House. Fahd visited Washington June 5–7. The Department’s prepared briefing papers for the visit focused on establishing the new economic and strategic relationship with Saudi Arabia. (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 937, VIP visits, Visit of Prince Fahd June 6–7, 1974 [2 of 3])
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