SAUDI ARABIA..                      1589

of interest forms one of the best possible guarantees of Saudi Arabian
independence and increasingly close relations with the United- States."'
  JIDDA, March 30, 1949.

  In reply to this aide-mdmoire, the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry indicated
it was disturbed that the United States Government was hesistant in giving
a
frank reply to Saudi Arabian requests and it felt that the United States
"either
has no confidence in us or has not yet considered [the] great fundamental
mutual
interests involved." Regarding the proposed treaty of friendship, commerce,
and
navigation, it expressed eagerness to take every action which would lead
to
the strengthening and confirming of friendly relations between the two govern-
ments. However, although agreeing to publishing a statement to that effect,
it
considered the conditions stated by the United States prior to the announcement
would put it in a difficult situation (telegram 272, April 14, from Jidda,
890F.7962/4-1449; not printed).

890F.7962/4-249
The Ambassador in Saudi Arabia (Childs) to the Secretary of State

SECRET                                           JIDDA, April 2, 1949.
No. 84
   SIR: I have the honor to refer to my telegrams sent from Dhahran
numbers 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105 and 106 of March 23, 1949, 107
of March 24, 1949 and 109, 110, 111 and 112 of March 2l6,1949' and
to transmit with this despatch the following memoranda of conver-
sations' held at Riyadh regarding the Dhahran Airfield negotiations
and to give at the same time a brief summary of those negotiations:
   [Here follows a listing of the enclosed memoranda of conversa-
tions.]
   Due to the pressure of work at the-'end, no time could be spared for
 the preparation of extensive records of our extended conversations
 with Fuad Bey Hamza on the details of the agreement but Colonel
 O'Keefe and Captain Elkins are preparing an annotated text of the
 agreement which will incilude all relevant observations on the details.
   iNo opportunity was had either for an extended account of our final
 audience, with His Majesty on' March 25, 1940 but 'an account of this
 final audience was reported in my telegram     No. 229 of March 26,
 1949.           ...

 'None printed.  .
 'Negotiations on the extension of the Dhahran Air Field Agreement were
 held at Riyadh from March 18 to 25. A tentative revised agreement was reached
 on, March 25, with some points remaining to be worked out, particularly
con-
 cerning the operational authority at the field (Article 5). The annotated
text
 of the tentative agreement was transmitted to the Department under cover
of
 fdespatch 110, April: 20, from Jidda (890F.7962/4-2049) ; not prin~ted.
Notes re-
 garding Civil Air Rights were exchanged April 20, and April 23, renewing
the
 January 2, 1946, note until March 31, 1950. The notes were transmi~tted
to the
 flepartment under cover of despatch 115, April 23, from Jidda (711.90F27/4--
 2349) ; no~t printed.
 * 'Not printed.


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