Chapter 1014 Sterling Crisis

This result is diametrically opposed to Australia's recent optimism. Australians accept public opinion that Britain and France also have sovereignty claims to Antarctica, and more than half of the countries in the entire Antarctic Conference have sovereignty claims.

Even if the United States has no claim to sovereignty over Antarctica, it is of the same culture and species and will not object to it.

If you think about it this way, it seems that the only country that can oppose it is the Soviet Union itself.

With the firm support of Britain and France, and the support of more than half of the Antarctic Conference countries, as long as the United States takes a slight deviation, wouldn't Australia's claim to Antarctic sovereignty be finalized?

But Australia's dream of flying dragons and riding on the face did not become a reality. The final result of the Antarctic Conference was completely opposite to what the Australians thought. It suddenly caused an uproar in the public opinion of the entire country, eager to know why this result occurred.

Not to mention the disillusionment spreading in Australia, which is naturally guided by Pamela Mountbatten, who teaches by words and deeds.

Things in Paris are far from over. U.S. Secretary of State Dulles and British Foreign Secretary Macmillan are not just signing the Antarctic Treaty in Paris. The two countries also have their own matters to discuss.

The conversation was naturally about the Iranian oil crisis, which has been going on for a long time, and finding a solution acceptable to both parties.

Alan Wilson was still quite distrustful of Macmillan, the Foreign Secretary who had an American mother. He was always afraid that Macmillan would find an opportunity to sell Britain. You must know that it was when he was prime minister that he signed the Nassau Agreement.

Alan Wilson viewed the foreign secretary much as the Soviets viewed an enemy of the people.

However, when meeting with Dulles, Macmillan did not make any promises to the United States, and the first meeting ended in vain.

Although Macmillan is the Foreign Secretary, the person who really makes decisions on British foreign policy is the former Foreign Secretary and current Prime Minister Eden. Who makes Eden consider himself an expert in the field of diplomacy?

U.S. Secretary of State Dulles elaborated on the United States' views on the Iranian oil crisis, hoping that the United Kingdom would abandon sanctions and the United States would seek a solution to preserve British interests as much as possible. At the same time, he elaborated on Iran's important role in curbing the Soviet Union's influence in the Middle East.

Macmillan said that the UK cannot accept this unreasonable move that tramples on British dignity.

As we all know, the oil agreement between the UK and the Middle East countries has been revised. It is no longer the original one where I take everything, but one half of which is the same as the United States. This behavior of the Iranian government is totally unreasonable.

"It was Alan who adjusted the distribution of oil profits at that time." MacMillan pointed to Alan Wilson who was present.

"Uh, it's me." After being pointed out by the criminal suspect, Alan Wilson suddenly woke up and nodded.

"Britain should think about the overall interests of the free world, rather than insisting on its own way like now." Dulles frowned slightly, "Facing an unprecedented enemy, sometimes sacrifice is inevitable."

Alan Wilson raised his eyebrows and looked at MacMillan, ready to hear the suspect's answer.

"Is it just like the situation in Cuba?" Macmillan said with a cold smile, "Should Britain make sacrifices? Is this how the United States works in the diplomatic field? Regardless of the traditional friendship between Britain and the United States, for the sake of some regional interests, At the expense of British interests?”

"Mr. Macmillan, what the Secretary of State means is for the UK and Iran to each take a step back. This does not mean that the UK's sacrifice will be in vain. As long as the UK can express goodwill first, we will have room to operate." Deputy Secretary of State Smith glanced at him and looked confused. Dulles of Chongqing said as an excuse, "It is not to force Britain to make any concessions."

Cuba is the rival of the Dulles brothers. Few people dare to talk about Cuba in front of the Secretary of State, because this will offend the two brothers, the Secretary of State and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

At this time, Cuba had been controlled by Castro, who formed a government that included figures from various parties with different tendencies that opposed Batista. The new regime achieved fundamental social and economic changes, implemented land reform and industrial development policies,

Announced the nationalization of the properties of American companies and the local large and middle bourgeoisie, and implemented the policy of opposing imperialist interference and safeguarding national independence.

In the eyes of the United States, the Soviet Union appeared on its doorstep. The entire United States' attitude toward Cuba took a turn for the worse, and the Dulles brothers were the first to bear the brunt.

"Deputy Secretary Smith, the Iranian matter is very complicated. We may still have to discuss it slowly. Even the closest allies do not have to be consistent on everything, right?" Alan Wilson smiled at the United States Deputy Secretary Smith said.

Just a few days ago, when discussing Antarctic affairs, the other party answered him like this. It was really a blessing in heaven.

Smith opened his mouth, as if he regretted his negligent attitude in the past few days, and shouldn't have spoken so bluntly.

Each stated its position, which was the biggest result of this meeting between Britain and the United States. Macmillan and Dulles left separately.

"The Iran issue must be resolved as soon as possible." Dulles and his deputy Smith said this. "Once the delay is long, it may affect the election. We must find a way to force Britain to submit."

Almost at the same time, Alan Wilson suggested to the distinguished Foreign Secretary, "There will be an election in the United States next year. They should be more anxious than us. I think we can still continue to fight for it."

I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but at this moment, Britain and the United States have a feeling of 800,000 vs. 600,000. The advantage lies in my psychology.

It's just that the United States really thinks so, and the British side just pretends to think so. The gap in national power is still irreparable, even if Britain has got rid of the sequelae of World War II.

But if they fall out with the United States, it is estimated that the Conservative government will need to have a certain degree of determination. The Iran issue alone is not enough to make Britain have such determination.

Without Iran, Britain still had Iraq, and Kuwait, and the series of emirates that later formed the United Arab Emirates.

Dulles wanted to settle the Iran issue quickly because the United States was about to start a general election. It was also because of the general election that Alan Wilson suggested that Britain should drag out the Iranian oil crisis.

In the subsequent meetings, Macmillan, the British Foreign Secretary, could only explain the British position because of the presence of Eden, the Prime Minister. In this case, the two countries would naturally not come up with any results.

Neither Dulles nor Macmillan could stay in other countries for long. In the end, this interview could only come to an end, but for the US Secretary of State and the British Foreign Secretary, they were gone, leaving the Deputy Secretary of State and The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is here.

The situation turned into a conversation between two assistants again. Alan Wilson was not in a hurry at this time, "The United States will have an election next year, right, Mr. Deputy Secretary of State? Maybe the new government will be more friendly."

The United States will hold an election next year. This is something the whole world knows. As a member of the earth, how could Alan Wilson not care? The final result was that Kenya narrowly defeated Nixon. It was said to be a narrow victory, but in fact, from the beginning of the TV debate, Nixon's appearance was destined to suffer, especially compared with Kennedy.

"Sir Wilson is very confident." Smith said with a serious face, "The United Kingdom has already prepared to reject the goodwill of the United States. What consequences will it face? You must know that for most of the post-war period, the United States took measures to control Britain's international status. Supportive attitude, just such a request to hope that the UK will take into account the overall situation, was rejected like this?"

"Why do you have to say it so directly? Mr. Smith." Alan Wilson sneered. "The loss of nearly five million square kilometers of British Indian colonies still doesn't satisfy you? Britain has realized that this world will be The world of the United States and the Soviet Union, but we also have to consider the people's livelihood in our own country, and we can't even say something about the confiscation of such an important asset as BP, right?"

"Perhaps Britain will lose more by then." Smith's voice turned cold, "Is the world situation so complicated?"

"Yeah, it's too complicated." Alan Wilson seemed not to hear the ambiguity in the other party's words, and nodded solemnly, "It's so complicated that sometimes, you can't even see why allies are more lovable than enemies, don't you think? "

"Then let's wait for the results." Smith stood up directly. There was no need to talk anymore. He now wanted to follow Secretary of State Dulles' footsteps back home to discuss how to force Britain to make concessions.

What the United States needs now is to have both. It requires Britain to agree to the United States' mediation, but it cannot involve the Soviet Union.

Fortunately, since Khrushchev's visit to the United States, the current relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union has been in a stable state, which is an opportunity for a fight with Britain.

Alan Wilson also completed the affairs in Paris, and embarked on the journey back to London with the atmosphere of Hedy Lamarr, Ingrid Bergman, Anna and Xia Meng. He was exhausted from an Antarctic meeting, There are still flowers and national treasures in China that are waiting for food. He has paid too much for Britain.

This time the two countries failed to resolve the Iranian oil crisis. Almost immediately, diplomatic relations experienced setbacks. The International Monetary Fund downgraded the UK's credit rating.

For a time, the pressure on the pound suddenly increased, and vultures looming around the UK began to circle.

Prime Minister Eden, who had already learned of the US attitude, immediately convened a cabinet meeting to discuss countermeasures. At the same time, Whitehall was also discussing how to deal with this international hot money, which actually originated from the financial suppression by the United States.

The situation is quite optimistic. After all, currency is a reflection of a country's credit system. A strong country means a strong currency, and a weak country means a weak currency. Britain's current national strength is definitely very different from the Britain in Alan Wilson's memory.

"I have asked the Nigerian High Commissioner and the Governor to discuss the establishment of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company immediately and list it in London." Alan Wilson reported with a telegram from Lagos, "The price to be set depends on the Ministry of Finance. ”