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Национальный архив Соединенного Королевства об Организации африканского единства (1963)
The author analyzes documents from the National Archives of the United Kingdom on the problem of the formation of the OAU. The Addis Ababa Conference of 1963, which adopted the Charter of the OAU, was an important international event that attracted the attention of diplomats and experts on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The principles and approaches of British diplomacy in relation to African countries can be demonstrated by a memorandum prepared in 1965 by the planning group of the Foreign Office "The Future of the Organization for African Unity (O.A.U.) and Its Effect on Western Interest". The authors of the memorandum noted that there were no objective reasons why the goals of the OAU could not manifest themselves in the interests of the West in the long term. In the assessments of British diplomats, one can observe some changes in London's attitude towards the problems of decolonization and the future of African countries. The British recognized that the direct intervention of the West in the conflicts on the African continent was rather counterproductive. The threat from the USSR turned out to be largely overestimated, and the fears of losing the continent were too exaggerated. At the same time, Britain did not have enough resources or forces to maintain its presence on the continent, and the United States, its main ally, was not disposed to take full responsibility for what was happening on the continent. This may explain the fatigue of British diplomats from the ongoing problems associated with Africa, and the desire to shift more responsibility onto the African states themselves.