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LETTER FROM THE AMBASSADOR OF THE USSR IN LEBANON AND IN SYRIA D.S. MALT TO THE HEAD OF THE MIDDLE EASTERN DEPARTMENT OF THE USSR MFA I.I. BAKULINA

April 14, 1948

Secret

In addition to our No. 25 / s dated January 23 of this year, addressed to the deputy. Minister Comrade Zorin V. And I am sending you some materials about the newly launched campaign by the Turks for the creation of the Mediterranean Entente with the inclusion of the Arab countries.

In itself, such a campaign, perhaps, would not be of particular interest, because in recent years, the Turks have not started campaigns of this kind for the first time, which invariably ended in complete failure against the Arab countries, since the latter still do not want to contact Turkey if the Americans would not be behind the Turks together with the British. In this regard, at present, the campaign for the formation of the Mediterranean Entente is of a slightly different nature and proceeds in changed conditions, namely, on the one hand, in the West, the Anglo-Saxons managed to put together the Western bloc, which they intend to expand with the creation of the Mediterranean Entente and then the Eastern bloc, on the other hand, the difficulties created by the Anglo-Saxons in resolving the Palestinian and Egyptian issues may force the current Arab leaders to make concessions to the Anglo-Saxons on the formation of the Mediterranean Entente and the Eastern Bloc at the expense of some compensation for them in the Palestinian and Egyptian issues, although the current Arab leaders are well aware that, among all other hardships, an alliance with Turkey will ultimately lead to the restoration of 400 years of Turkish rule over Arab countries, from which they were freed only in 1918.

The instability of the positions of the Arab countries on the issue of the formation of the Mediterranean Entente in its current development, lack of confidence in their strengths and unwillingness to resist Anglo-American harassment are manifested in the very symptomatic fact that all previous statements by Turkish leaders about the need for Turkish-Arab rapprochement immediately aroused the sharpest objections of the Arab press and very harsh and caustic remarks on the Turkish address, while at present the Arab press in its overwhelming majority refrains from commenting on the Turkish proposals.

Despite this position of the Arab press, there is still no reason to believe that this time the Turkish initiative will be more successful than the previous ones, because the broad Arab masses more and more decisively show that they do not want to climb into the Anglo-Saxon yoke without a fight, and even more so offered by a Turkish servant.

Appendix to the text on  page 23.

Messenger D Malt

WUA RF. F. 0106. Op. 7.P. 7.D. 1.L. 45-46.