[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Committee that the dispatch of that message was the Molotov. I supported the establishment of relations
initiative of com. Khrushchev, the First Secretary of the with West Germany as well.
Central Committee. (Applause). Shepilov was minister of Gromyko. I will remind you of the facts: You came
foreign affairs then. He spoke here, but his tongue could back from the conference in San Francisco. The day
not move to note that fact. He loses the gift of speech in before, the issue was discussed in the CC Presidium.
such cases. There was a decision at com. Khrushchev s suggestion to
Shepilov. At dozens of meetings, including at MID normalize relations with West Germany and to send an
meetings, I said that this aided our rapprochement with the open note to the Adenauer government. We at MID
Arabs, that this was com. Khrushchev s initiative. prepared such a note in keeping with com. Khrushchev s
Gromyko. Why did you not say so to the Central proposal. Against this, as far as I remember, there were no
Committee? objections in the Presidium.
Shepilov. I agree. Com. Molotov returned. I did not physically have the
COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL HISTORY PROJECT BULLETIN 10 57
time to introduce [show to the Presidium] this issue before then, although it cannot be said definitely; in such matters
his return. The minister arrived; he examined the pro- you cannot make categorical assertions; but there is a good
posal. Deputy minister V.S. Semenov who is present here likelihood that Egypt would have been brought to its
and I tried to convince com. Molotov that the draft should knees.
be brought to the CC as had been pre-approved in the I want to touch on another issue as well. It would be
Presidium. Am I speaking correctly, com. Semenov? good if com. Molotov mentally went out into the middle of
Semenov. Correctly. the hall and looked at himself speaking from this tribune.
Gromyko. We said: it is a correct decision and He would see what a pathetic picture it is. It was also a
should be introduced in this form in particular. Com. pathetic picture when he tried to denigrate the visits of our
Molotov says: no, by introducing such a draft, we will leading officials, above all, of course, com. Khrushchev, to
extend a hand to [West German Chancellor Konrad] other countries with serious missions, as a result of which
Adenauer and entreat him. He cancelled this decision and the foreign-policy influence of our state, the Soviet Union,
introduced his own proposal. Of course, the Presidium has been increased in several countries and several world
altered the whole thing and affirmed its decision. regions.
Molotov. An open letter is one thing, and a non-open I must say that I simply bow before the huge work of
letter is another. The difference here is not an essential great state importance which was done during these trips
one, but one of form. by com. Khrushchev. As is well known, com. Bulganin
Gromyko. Not only on this issue, although it in travelled with him, but com. Khrushchev was always the
particular was a very important issue. soul of the matter.
Voice. We were talking about the content. Voices. Correct. (Applause).
Gromyko. We were talking about making a direct Gromyko. This applies to the visit to India. I was
proposal on normalization to put Adenauer in a difficult among the accompanying persons. It applies to the trip to
position and not to drag out the matter as before. Yugoslavia, to Afghanistan, to Burma, to England, to
On disarmament. I am not going to repeat what has Finland, and to the meeting of the leaders of the four
been said before it is a complex problem. But here as powers summit in Geneva in 1955. And I think that com.
well the main decisions were, as a rule, taken by the First Molotov resorted to fairly dirty methods on purpose in his
Secretary of the CC. effort to denigrate [Khrushchev], since com. Molotov did
The virgin lands were spoken about here. I want to not and could not have any other arguments worthy of
emphasize this matter from another angle. If it hadn t attention.
been for the virgin lands and it is well known on whose Voices. Correct.
insistence the relevant decision was made this year we Gromyko. In Finland during the last visit there was a
not only would have been on hunger rations [na golodnom pack of foreign correspondents from Finnish, French,
paike], but we could not have sold grain to our friends. American, and English newspapers that were very hostile
We would have been obliged to market our gold abroad, in to us. But not one of the correspondents nor any one of
the context of our very tight foreign-trade balance. We the newspapers which were most hostile to the Soviet
could not have sold bread to the Poles, the Hungarians, or Union dared to bring any facts that would cast a shadow
the Albanians. I am not even talking about the fact that we on the behavior of com. Khrushchev and com. Bulganin
could not have sold [bread] to Egypt. during their last trip.
I do not want to repeat myself on the theme of how What sort of conclusion follows from this? The
significant that would have been, but I do want to empha- conclusion is as follows: the ethics of the bourgeois
size one fact: if we had not given [dali] the people s newspapers which were most hostile to us turned out to be
democratic countries bread, then... more elevated than the ethics by which Molotov now lets
Mikoian. If we had not sold [prodali] it [to them]. himself be guided at the CC Plenum.
Gromyko. If we had not sold them bread, those Voices. Correct. (Applause.)
countries would have been obliged to turn to someone Gromyko. Com. Molotov also dredged up com.
else; there is only one someone else the Americans. And Khrushchev s interview. I want to inform the Central
they will not only sell bread, but will sell with the simulta- Committee [about something]. I consider that it has the
neous attachment of one-sided conditions. right and should know this fact. Com. Khrushchev did not
The negotiations which have recently taken place propose himself, did not ask for this interview. The
between the Poles and the Americans on some issues, proposal that com. Khrushchev agree to give an interview
including on the issue of selling so-called agricultural was made by the MID, by me. It was discussed in the CC
surpluses to Poland, have shown that the Americans seize Presidium. At the beginning I had the following impres-
anything they can with their teeth in order to attach the sion: com. Khrushchev did not have a very fixed opinion
conditions they need. as to whether he should or should not give an interview. I
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]