The First Phase 1957–61: Soviet Restrained Policy towards Egypt

Abstract

By the end of 1957 the Soviet Union had won great popularity among the progressive Arab states: the USSR was seen as a protector against Western intervention. Furthermore, most of the Arab people were certain that Soviet sea power would be used as a counterforce to the Sixth Fleet. This idea was expressed and exaggerated in the Egyptian press during the Syrian crisis, for example: #x2018;Soviet ship challenges NATO navies and enters the manoeuvre area’,¹ and ’The Sixth Fleet has been called up in front of Syria and the Soviet Fleet is on its way to challenge it#x2019;.² It would seem that this exaggerated portrayal of the military capacity of the Soviet Union was made in the hope that it might challenge the undisputed power of the Sixth Fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Sixth Fleet had long been considered the chief tool of armed persuasion for American foreign policy in this region.