611.61/8–651
The President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Shvernik) to President Truman 1
[Translation]
Your Excellency: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of July 7, 1951,2 and of the enclosed resolution of the Congress of the United States of America and to transmit to you a resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.3
This resolution expresses the feelings of sincere friendship of the peoples of the Soviet Union toward the peoples of the whole world—it speaks of the fact that the Soviet people is unified in its attempts to establish a stable peace and to eliminate the threat of a new war.
The Soviet people has no basis for doubting that the American people also do not want war.
However, the Soviet people know well that there exist in some states forces which are striving to unleash a new world war, in [Page 1631] which the circles in question see the source of their own enrichment. The peoples of the Soviet Union believe that there will be no war if the peoples take into their own hands preservation of peace and defend it to the end, unmasking the attempts of those forces which have interests in war and which are trying to draw the people into another war.
I share your opinion that a desire for peace and brotherhood exists in the hearts of a majority of people. Therefore, governments which not with words but with deeds are striving to support peace must encourage by every means the peaceful strivings of their peoples.
The Soviet Government assists in every way the unification of the efforts of the Soviet people fighting for peace with the efforts of the peoples of other countries. It hospitably receives communications of peace from any country and by every means contributes to the intercourse of the Soviet people with the peoples of other countries, placing no barriers in the path.
There is no doubt that friendship between peoples which is mentioned in your communication pre-supposes the development of political, economic and cultural relations and connections between peoples on a basis of equal rights. There is also no doubt that a most important step on this road must be the elimination of any discrimination with regard to the Soviet Union on the part of the American authorities.
The duty of all peace-loving peoples consists in steadfastly carrying on a policy of war prevention and preservation of peace, of not permitting arms races, of attaining limitation of armaments and the prohibition of atomic weapons with the establishment of inspection over the implementation of such a prohibition, and of cooperating in the conclusion of a Five Power Pact for the strengthening of peace.
The conclusion of such a pact would have an exceptionally important significance in the improvement of Soviet-American relations and the strengthening of peace among peoples. Such a pact would raise the confidence of all peoples in the preservation of peace and, moreover, would permit the possibility of limiting armaments, of lightening the burden of military expenditures, which lie with all their heaviness on the peoples’ shoulders.
In implementing the indicated measures the American people will always find full cooperation on the part of the Soviet people, who unalterably defend the cause of peace.
I hope that the text of the resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics will be brought to the attention of the American people.
[Page 1632]I take this occasion to request you to transmit to the American people my greetings and good wishes from the people of the Soviet Union.
- The Russian-language original of this communication and the enclosed resolution (not printed here) were sent to the Secretary of State on August 6 under cover of a brief, undated note from Soviet Chargé Karavaev requesting their transmission to President Truman. Later in the day on August 6, President Truman instructed the immediate publication of Shvernik’s communication and enclosed resolution as translated in the Department of State. The two documents in translation were released to the press in Department of State Press Release No. 705 and were printed in Department of State Bulletin, August 20, 1951, pp. 294–296. A facsimile of page 2 of Pravda (the official organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union) for August 8, 1951, containing the Russian text of Shvernik’s communication and the enclosed resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, is printed in Current Digest of the Soviet Press, August 18, 1951, p. 4; for translations of the two documents, see ibid., pp. 3, 5–6. The Department of State translation of the two documents is also printed in Folliot, Documents on International Affairs, 1951, pp. 311–317.↩
- Document 788.↩
- Regarding the resolution, see footnote 1 above.↩