West Germany secretly sought Somali mediation to restore Saudi ties after recognizing Israel

Evidence

Ambassador Nagel … wanted to see me this morning. According to what he said, he received a message from President [Heinrich Lübke] and Chancellor [Ludwig] Erhard, who entrusted him with beseeching me to check out with King Faisal during my visit with him if Saudi Arabia would tie itself again with [West] Germany and redo the interrupted diplomatic relations, without letting it be known that Germany suggested and asked it of me. I told him this would be rather delicate and that I do not have any intention to take advantage of the susceptibility of the host or to speak to him in the presence of others, but if it happens that I can speak to him alone, I will ask him only what he thinks about his relations with Germany and the Arab countries that broke relations after Germany recognized Israel and supplied arms. I told him that King Faisal could be inclined in his heart to follow Tunisia, Morocco, and Lebanon in their relations with Germany, but [Faisal] fears the reaction from the propaganda of Egypt and the other Arab countries, the so-called progressives, who would incite their populations against him. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 844

Categorization

• XREF: Fits the broader theme of small-state diplomacy in the Horn and the nonalignment balancing act that recurs in this history.