The Soviet Union's Quest for Access to Naval Facilities in Egypt Prior to the June War of 1967

Abstract : The study seeks to identify and elucidate Soviet attempts to secure access to naval facilities in Egypt before the June War of 1967. It describes the methods which the Soviets employed toward that end. The study also seeks to explain why the USSR perceived a need for those facilities, and attempts to identify landmarks in the Soviet effort to obtain access to them. The study also examines the Suez crisis of 1956, the Syrian-Turkish crisis of 1957, and the Lebanon crisis of 1958 for the light which they shed on Egypt's subsequent response to Soviet persuasion and pressure for access to its naval facilities. Where relevant to this question, Egyptian views of the Sixth Fleet and other Western naval forces are examined as well.