On September 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Prince Fahd ibn Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, Ibrahim al-Sowayel, Joseph J. Sisco, Camile Nowfels, Harold H. Saunders, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:23 pm to 5:00 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 449-018 of the White House Tapes.
Transcript (AI-Generated)This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.
Well, that helps it.
I'm very happy to see you, sir.
Well, let me ask you, how do you get up there and look at the people?
Well, I realize that there are many problems that take so much of your time.
Well, I, you know, have a very great pleasure to visit you tonight.
It's a pleasure to be here.
And also, I...
I just wanted to see the scientists' personal reasons for coming today.
One of them is because they received the Vice President so warmly.
He was there.
The President of the United States
At times we would like to accuse the President that the Vice President visited only a friendly country and that no matter what the responsibility is, that for that moment
this kind of relationship on each one of the two countries.
We always feel that there is that bond of friendship between us.
And the Majesty King Faisal hopes that your circumstances someday would permit you to visit the frantic country of Saudi Arabia.
I appreciate it.
It is my pleasure.
It is my pleasure to present you, Mr. President, a letter from your friend, King Fessler.
I would like to express my condolences to the members of the opposition party and to the president.
I came here, Mr. President, only to express to you the feelings and the sentiments towards you of His Majesty the King.
Of course, you are aware of the problem which I would like to discuss with you, but it is good from time to time for friends to discuss problems which are a combination of
First of all, I would like to thank the President of the United States.
Second, I would like to thank the President of the United States, and I would like to thank the President of the United States.
When His Majesty ordered me to have the honour to meet him, Mr President, he impressed upon me the fact that the subject that I should take up with you is a subject which concerns all of us, the subject of the Arab-Israeli situation.
Certainly the Vice President and the Secretary of State have presented to you the views of His Majesty the King, which he conveyed to them when they called on him in Saudi Arabia.
Of course, being in that part of the world, in the midst of it, we sense, perhaps more than anyone else, the reality of the situation.
As far as the United Arab Republic is concerned, I can't say that the U.A.R.
is trying at the present time to rid itself of its commitments to the communist countries.
As you may be aware, Mr. President, we also feel that the OAR at the present time is eager to accrue its relations with the United States to better its relations with the U.S.
The events of the recent past would indicate to us that the position
of the communist countries in that part of the world, what happened in Sudan, in Egypt, and in other parts of the area, it seems that the position of the communists in that part of the world has worsened recently.
What do you think about the fact that the communists in Syria and Russia are doing a great job?
What do you think about the fact that the communists in Syria and Russia are doing a great job?
At the same time, we feel that some communist countries, particularly Red China and the USSR, are still trying to bring down some of the regimes in the area.
This is true particularly in the case of the President of the United Arab Republic, because he's known to be anti-communist, and the communists actually have a very special life.
Of course his relationship with Moscow is such that it would be very difficult for him to rid himself of that relationship.
unless he is given certain solutions to some of the problems which would earn him the support of the area and more specifically the support of strong people.
How does that work?
I would like to ask the President of the United Arab Emirates and the United Arab Emirates to give me the opportunity to speak to the United Arab Emirates, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Arab Emirates.
The catch of this, His Majesty King Faisal hopes that it will be possible for the President of Egypt to be given a solution to some of these problems so that he may be able to speak more boldly.
in favor of that state and the role that he was playing.
He was able to face the rest of the Arab peoples and play a positive role in this respect.
We, the people of the United States of America, have been in this situation for a long time.
There is no reason for the people of the United States of America to be afraid of these things.
As France really has faced, we fear that it may not be here unless the President of Egypt is given such solutions, then we will not be able
to look at the rest of the Arab world straight in the eye and say that we have been helped by the United States, that we should not expect the U.S. to solve all of our problems, that we do trust that it would be possible for us to be given a certain amount of assistance so that the President would be able, with that, to proceed in a more positive way.
The Arab people stood close to the president of Egypt in order to, speaking from both of them,
what can be done in the interest of the people of that area.
We hear that should there be no solution, that this may result in a setback, particularly in the DOAR, and such a setback would disturb the interests of the countries in the area.
to know that should communism be a choice, and should the peoples be ruled by communist leaders, it would be very difficult for us to do what we would like to do.
who has always stood against the government of the United States of America, and has always been very victorious, and has been on the front lines of the government of the United States of America, and has been on the front lines of the government of the United States of America,
We were pleased when the President of the United States did what he could in order to make things easier for us.
The meeting between the President and His Majesty was a very successful meeting and it served a very beneficial purpose.
I don't know what to say.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I say these things, Mr. President, because I'm fully aware of the fact that you, uh, uh, that, uh, that you know these things, but as His Majesty, your friend, mentioned to me, it is good from time to time for friends to go over things which, uh, which they, uh, both know.
Would you, uh, what, coffee or tea?
Coffee.
As a first step, I would suggest the openness to a staff.
This will improve things and this may cause story crashes.
between the parties.
His Majesty King Isolette is trying to calm things down
But it may be that someday he won't be able to do that.
And once he finds himself unable to count things down, things will become much more serious.
And he always counsels that we should
give the United States some time and give the president of the United States some time to come up with an English solution rather than Russian.
But the thing that we fear the most is that things might change in such a way that
that people becoming patient with persons at the helm would still have the opportunity to do something, but should his regime be overthrown and succeeded by another leadership, then it would be a situation which is completely, and the people of the area would be told then that it doesn't really benefit them to be patient and to wait for the U.S. to do something.
Things would go out of hand.
I personally am even surprised that it is not in the interest of Israel that this problem should be prolonged, should continue unsolved.
Of course, I don't mean to say that I am in any position to say that I don't know anything about it, but I do want to say that Malik is, as you can see, the fifth president, and the president who has done, as you can see, the president and the government have done a great deal to solve the situation in a reasonable and acceptable way.
Of course I can't speak for Israel, but we realize that the House of States and the House of Presidents are doing
and we appreciate your efforts, but the problem is that communism is trying to portray the United States, not as a country that is trying to help in this respect, but only a country, a country which has no interest in solving the problem.
As far as we can stand, we're fully aware of your efforts.
And according to what we know, this is the first time in the history of the United States that the revolution of the Soviet Union took place.
This is the first time in the history of the Soviet Union that the revolution of the Soviet Union took place.
This is the first time in the history of the Soviet Union
I can tell you, Mr. President, exactly what he said to his man-seeking partner.
He is very eager to rid Egypt of its commitments to the Soviet Union, providing we help him to do so.
We give him a solution from his powers.
Well, we are fully confident that what President Sadat has said is precisely what he means, that he means what he says, namely that he is eager to redress his commitments to the Soviet Union if only given some support.
Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President,
You mean, slowly, that you measured, Mr. President, we realize that you, uh, that you're very aware of the situation, that you know, and perhaps that we are not aware of, but, uh, uh, both as medicine, as an eye, as a friend.
I trust that she will do whatever can be done as fast as possible to show that Gadsden will not be renewed between the conflicting parties, because should that happen, then the situation would deteriorate and become much more difficult to solve.
Let me say with high respect, it's very horrible to have him set a board with the position of
his government and also to report on his analysis and his magazine analysis of the situation.
Naturally, I read it and I hear it from others, but it's best to hear it from the source.
I share the concern that His Highness has expressed, that His Highness has expressed with regard to
the need for some progress on the negotiations with regard to the whole area, in particular with regard to Suez as part of the problem.
We are using our good offices as effectively as we can.
I cannot report any specific projects at this time, but I consider that His Highness should report to His Majesty that my interest
is personal because of my high regard for His Majesty and his evaluation of this whole situation.
And also because I believe that the interests of all countries in the area, including Israel, as you pointed out, will be served by some settlement here.
As the Prime Minister said, I would like to assure you that I will listen to him as soon as possible in order to ensure the progress of this issue.
I can't say right now that I am concerned about any specific situation.
We are still trying to find a way to save the lives of those who were killed.
I think that Jesus has personal interest in one of the Jews, and I think that all the decisions are made by the Master of Glory, and he has all the respect of the Master of Glory, and especially in what is important to him in this matter.
And he considers that one of the Jews in this stage of creation, among the Jews of Israel, as the Queen of the Jews, is one of the greatest Jews of all time.
or because of his attempt to be reasonable.
I think science is correct in suggesting that so.
The failure to miss progress there will simply open the door for more communists to intrigue in the area.
I think the role of his majesty's government, and of course the role of his highness, is enormously important.
First is because we are close friends, personally, in this countries.
And second, because the government of Saudi Arabia has been consistent in trying to find a solution to this problem.
They're reasonable there.
First of all, because we are on the side of the private sector, my friends, and your friends.
I would also point out that not only is the position of your government important,
Also, with regard to Iran and the common interest of the governments in that area to avoid a progress by radical forces that would overthrow the stable governments of the present-day system.
I would like to mention that the revolution that the government of Saudi Arabia is fighting is only for the benefit of the Middle East.
It is only for the benefit of Iran and for the governments of the region to limit the possibility of reducing the regime that is fighting through radicalism.
I wish that we could at this time, if we were speaking honestly, say we have a solution in sight.
But we do not.
But also speaking honestly, I can say that
We are pressing forward in all chance.
I completely agree with the urgency
that His Highness has just underlined.
And I can only say that having that winged force in Canada by His Highness's visit is, I think, valuable for us.
I will...
I will say that the people are going to hope very much when His Highness is reported.
This message will be in His Majesty.
First of all, I would like to say that I agree with you.
First of all, it is necessary to make a decision.
Secondly, it is necessary to make a decision as soon as possible.
This is very important.
And I do not deny that your visit
and remind us of these things, which will help us to consider this visit as a very useful one, as well as what was mentioned in the letter that I received from my friend, King Faital, and I would like to remind you that I will ask him
I would like to say in that connection that I feel very fortunate to have a personal relationship or friendship with His Majesty, as well as his kind of Spain, with Iran, whom I have known for many years, as I have known His Majesty.
And there's nothing that I would rather leave more as a result of my term of office than progress on this subject, which I know so concerns all of us in the area.
I can only say we will work on it.
I cannot promise results, but sometimes
by keeping, keeping that up, we get progress and we will continue to work on it.
I would like to say that this relationship between the Sunnis and me is the most important.
I am very happy that I have a friendship, that I have a friendship that I share with the Sunnis.
It is not that I have a relationship with the Sunnis.
It is that I have a friendship that I share with the Sunnis.
And there is nothing that can separate me
When I leave this position, I would like to say more than that.
I am keen to advance in this field, and I will do my best to do so.
I will do my best to advance in this field.
And in the meantime it's vitally important that we continue our close bilateral relations between our two countries because we must work together and on our part we welcome this kind of dialogue
with the great and powerful supporters, such as we were with you today.
For example, in this occasion, there could be a real exchange of opinions, because he really appreciates the appreciation and the opportunities that make it possible for the friends to have a real exchange of opinions.
What do you think, Mr. President?
If not, then what is the point of this meeting?
For example, the president of the United Arab Emirates, the president of the United Arab Emirates, the president of the United Arab Emirates,
And the second thing is, what is the problem in the world?
What is the problem in the world?
What is the problem in the world?
What is the problem in the world?
What is the problem in the world?
to convey this message to you.
We are sure of two things.
First of all, that President Sadef would like to improve his country's relationship with the United States.
Secondly, that President Sadef is eager to have the Middle East problem solved.
And it was because of His Majesty's certainty that such is the case
that he asked me to come here to see you and to submit to you this oral message as well as the written message.
Why not?
Secretary Rogers, Secretary Siscoe, has been very impressed by his sincerity and his veracity in this situation.
speaking as one who visited the UAR in 1963.
I'm very anxious to see the time come when we renew our formal diplomatic relations.
The UAR are great people and they play a great role in the world just as you people are.
It's time that the difficulties that go back to
in 1927 that they'd be erased?
I don't know.
I don't know.
The United Arab Emirates was born, and it was the result of our hard work, as well as our emotional work, and I don't doubt that we will be able to play an important role in the path of peace in the world, and that everything that has come about since 1967 will be destroyed.
Thank you very much, Mr. President.
I hope you have a good time.
I am very busy with my work, and I am sure that some of you are feeling the same way as I do.
I would like to thank you, Mr. President.
I realize that you are very busy and that your time is very valuable.
I'd like to assure you in concluding that His Majesty, like yourself, is very eager to do all that he can possibly do in order to achieve peace in that area.
And His Highness would like to wish you God's speed and God's blessing that all of you have a sense of respect.
I hope so.
I'll take care of it.