HC Deb 04 February 1953 vol 510 cc1827-8
16. Mr. Wyatt

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what reply he has made to the request from the Egyptian Government for the immediate withdrawal of British troops from the Canal Zone.

Mr. Selwyn Lloyd

Certain public statements have recently been made by a number of Egyptians in authority about the renewal of guerrilla warfare in the Canal Zone, if our troops are not withdrawn. While it is the declared policy of the Egyptian Government to secure the withdrawal of British troops by negotiation, in view of the nature of these statements Her Majesty's Ambassador at Cairo, upon my right hon. Friend's instructions, has taken them up with the Egyptian Government with a view to impressing upon General Neguib and his colleagues that if our two Governments are to negotiate a general settlement, negotiations can only take place in an atmosphere of self-restraint.

I believe that it should be possible to reach a settlement acceptable to both sides as a result of rational discussion of the problems involved. My right hon. Friend has received the assurance of the Egyptian Minister for Foreign Affairs that it is the Egyptian Government's intention to reach a settlement by negotiation Neither the threat of force nor the use of force will do anything but hinder the achievement of the aims of both countries.

Mr. Wyatt

Can the right hon. and learned Gentleman say whether, in the general negotiations now proceeding in Cairo, the obstacles with regard to the three years' agreement on the Southern Sudan have been overcome or whether any fresh obstacles have arisen?

Mr. Lloyd

That is a rather different question from the one on the Order Paper. There is a later Question with regard to negotiations on the Sudan.

Back to