Document VI-10 Reply Made by the President (Johnson) to a Question Asked at a News Conference, April 1, 1965 (Excerpts)" Continued United States Hope 28 The statement that I made [concerning the possibility of an exchange of visits with the Soviet leaders] is still as I made it, that I would welcome a visit from them. . . Maybe at the moment such a visit would not appeal to the people of Russia or the leaders of Russia, but I extended the invitation and it was a genuine one. I would be very happy to see them accept it because I think when we know each other better, when they learn what we are doing here in America, that there will be better understanding. I would be happy to welcome them. attempts to interfere with U.S. naval operations by approaching ships on collision courses in violation of the International Rules of the Road. The note reminded the Soviet Government that "it would bear full responsibility for the serious consequences that would result should a collision occur. Document VI-12 Replies Made by the Secretary of Defense (McNamara) to Questions Asked in an Interview With the Editors of U.S. News & World Report, Issued April 12, 1965 (Excerpts)1 Analysis of Soviet and There is no indication that ... [the Russians] are catching up or planning to catch up [with the U.S. in strategic nuclear forces]. 35 The Deputy Head of the U.S.A. Section of the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs today informed our Political Counselor that Norris D. Garnett, Assistant Cultural Officer of the Embassy, was declared PNG for "carrying on work hostile to the U.S.S.R. among students from African countries". Our representative replied that Mr. Garnett at no time was guilty of behavior incompatible with his status as an accredited diplomat. In turn, the Soviet official declared that Mr. Garnett was expected to leave "within a reasonably short time" 34 Department of State fles. Persona non grata. 96 30 On June 1 the Department of State informed the Soviet Embassy in Washington that the First Secretary of the Embassy, Stefan Mikhailovich Kirsanov, had been declared persona non grata "for activities incompatible with his diplomatic status," and was expected to leave within a reasonably short time. Our people and the Soviet state are allocating the necessary means for supplying the armed forces with the latest equipment and weapons. Our talented scientists, designers, engineers and workers are contributing to the cause of the reliable defense of the homeland with the fruits of their labor. The results of their work could be seen in some measure at the military parade in honor of the 20th anniversary of the victory over Hitler's Germany, at which were shown certain-of course, not the latest-examples of Soviet weapons and equipment. You, comrades, know this better than anyone else. We have achieved big successes in creating the latest types of weapons, including nuclear ones, for our infantry, the country's air-defense The whole world knows that our might does not need advertising or wordy proofs. Boasting is alien to us, and we do not want to threaten anyone. But it must be noted that the figures and calculations that are being drawn up in the West with respect to the nuclear-missile might of the Soviet Union by no means testify to the knowledge of their compilers, particularly the intelligence services of the imperialist states. We declare with full determination that any attempt to undertake aggressive actions against our country on the basis of this kind of evaluation of the might of our military potential will prove fatal for its initiators. It is scarcely necessary to cite concrete data about the number of intercontinental and orbital missiles the Soviet Union has at its disposal. Suffice it to say merely that there are enough, fully enough, to put an end once and for all to any aggressor, to any grouping of aggressors. We are satisfied with our missiles. Their great reliability and readiness for immediate launching is the result of their high technological perfection. The utilization of the most diverse types of launching of strategic rockets-surface, underground and underwater, both stationary and moveable, including self-propelled-ensures the maneuverability and invulnerability of our army's missile forces. See ante, doc. VI-12; also The New York Times, July 4, 1965. Everyone knows that we have achieved major successes in the creation of means of anti-missile defense. We have recently taken further important steps that have sharply raised their effectiveness. While paying special attention to nuclear-missile weapons, we are not forgetting the large role that still belongs to conventional types of arms. Our army continues to be constantly provided with the latest tanks, aircraft, artillery and other equipment. Document VI-16 Reply Made by the Secretary of State (Rusk) to a Question Asked on the ABC Radio and Television Program, "Issues and Answers," July 11, 1965 (Excerpt)" "There Definitely Is a Chill Between Ourselves and the Soviet Union at the Present Time" Quite apart from the visit [of the Soviet leaders to the United States]," which I have nothing to report on, we are interested in a steady improvement of our relations with the Communist world, but we can't do it at the expense of their overrunning smaller countries to which we have commitments. So there definitely is a chill, a reduction in the possibilities of real progress between ourselves and the Soviet Union at the present time. We would like to see this South Vietnamese problem settled on a peaceful basis so that we can get on with the great tasks that the rest of the world is expecting us to pick up and move with. 40 Department of State Bulletin, Aug. 2, 1965, p. 190. 41 See ante, docs. I-1, VI-5, 10. On Dec. 6, 1965, in an interview with James Reston, associate editor of The New York Times, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the U.S.S.R., Alexei Kosygin, stated that while, in principle, he favored a meeting with President Johnson, he did not think it feasible as long as the war in Viet-Nam continued (The New York Times, Dec. 8, 1965). For excerpts from this interview, see post, doc. VI-27. a bilateral character between the United States and the Soviet Union. Its subject matter is not dramatic, but nevertheless it is very important. I suppose that the earliest responsibility of the Department of State from the very beginning has been the protection of American citizens abroad. We have had some special problems in that regard in our relations over the years with the Soviet Union. We have had two different systems of law, an open society in relation with what is basically a closed society, with special problems and sensitivities and animosities particularly during the Stalinist period. And so we have had a number of continuing problems about giving adequate protection to our citizens who might be traveling in the Soviet Union. At the present time there is an increase in the number of our citizens who are going there. We hope that the general situation will permit some increase in trade between ourselves and the Soviet Union, giving further emphasis to the importance of the normal type of consular relations that exist between us and many other governments. This consular convention will help to normalize further our relations with the Soviet Union. It will help to reduce sources of friction between us. Some of these incidents which have occurred with respect to the treatment of American citizens have been extremely sensitive. They have taken on very large political implications. They have at times required the intervention of the President of the United States with the Chief of Government of the Soviet Union. If we can find ways to deal with such problems properly, through normal consular channels, then we feel that there would be a gain in the relations between our two great countries. We feel also that this convention would encourage the Soviet Union to accept the conduct which other responsible nations accept in their treatment of foreigners and of foreign interests within their territory. It will place obligations upon the Soviet authorities to respect some of the elementary civil rights which are cherished by democratic nations. |