ABSTRACT
The Egyptian–Czechoslovak arms deal, officially announced in September 1955, has been the subject of many studies. Most of these studies have indicated that the deal was concluded as a result of the following events: the Baghdad Pact, the Israeli attack on Gaza on 28 February 1955, the Bandung Conference and the Western refusal to supply Egypt with arms. Official dialogue between the Soviet Union and Egypt about arms sales took place in the first quarter of 1954. The subject had also been discussed with other East European countries and, according to some reports Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union had expressed their agreement to supply Egypt with arms. The so-called Czech–Egyptian arms deal, officially announced in September 1955, was in fact a combination of two separate deals. On 27 September, soon after receiving news of Nasir’s announcement, Dulles and Macmillan, the British Foreign Secretary, discussed the subject in New York.
