108. Message From Chairmen Khrushchev and Brezhnev to President Kennedy 0

Dear Mr. President, On the occasion of the national holiday of the United States of America—Independence Day—we send to you and the American people our warm congratulations and best wishes for peace and prosperity. In our times—the age of harnessing atomic energy and penetration into the depths of the universe—the preservation of peace [Page 298] has become in truth a vital necessity for all mankind. We are convinced that if the governments of our two countries, together with the governments of other states, displaying a realistic approach, firmly choose the road of elimination of points of international tension and of broadening commercial cooperation, then peoples everywhere will welcome this as a great contribution to the strengthening of universal peace.

  • N. Khrushchev 1
  • L. Brezhnev
  1. Source: Department of State, Presidential Files: Lot 66 D 204. No classification marking. The source text is a Department of State translation of a commercial telegram from Moscow. Another copy of this message and the transliterated Russian text is in the Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Countries Series, USSR, Khrushchev Correspondence.
  2. Printed from a copy that bears these typed signatures.