Page 174 - Records of Bahrain (7) (ii)_Neat

564 Records of Bahrain

CTPIMTIAL

Finn umm to voiiwwi emeu

Cypher/CTR M<AnTO:m,Ai. ur6VRibUT.TMi

Mr* finult . D. 12*26 p.ru July 16, 1957#
Ho. 7.17 Ht 5*10 p.w. July 16, 1957#
17 J{/{
July 16, 1957#
■ i 7#" -I'v «'ii / <0
i : • ft 'V «:J
C«"'NF1U]MIa|i u M •o-O -»
Addressed to Foreign Of flop tolcgrau Uo. 717 of July 1.6,
.Ropoatod for information to; Doha

Zuburuh.

The Ruler tolls me that King buud has written to him offering
to Mediate in this Matter. Apparently the offer was made by the
King to the Ruler*s undo, tJheikh Uohuuucd, at this year's
i pilgrimage. The Ruler would like to have uy views before
replying to the offer. He considers tlie offer was suggested
to the King by Uhoikh All of Qatar, who was also on the pilgrimage.
The Ruler affected to regal'd the offer us nu interference by a
thirfl. party j,n Matters for which wo were primarily responsible
und did not appear to favour acceptance of it.

2, Your despatch llo. 9Q of July 2 reached no on July 12 but 1
had taken no action on it.
3. It i3 unlikely, if Sheikh All in fact suggested Mediation
to King baud, that he did so expooting anything but baud's support
for hit) rejection of Bahrain's claitas, since Qatar stands very close
to the• ihuulis mid no doubt this thought has also occurred to the
Ruler of Bahrain. The latter still speaks as though wo might
support his claim as we have done to a greater or less extent in
19H- and 1950. kejeotion of the buudi offer might make the
settlement of the sea-bed, frontier between Saudi Arabia und
Bahrain, and in particular the idea of a neutral zone for
Fasht Ru Su'afa, more difficult to achieve. Against this it would,
on general grounds, be/desirable from our own point of view for
King baud to appear to wo setting up as an arbiter of differences
between us und the Gulf Rulers, whether Bahraini or any other.

A. I think,