No. 544
Editorial Note
At his press conference on February 25, President Eisenhower was asked whether anything could be accomplished by a meeting with Generalissimo Stalin “at this time” and whether the President would be willing to go out of the country to meet Stalin. The President replied in part as follows:
“I will say this: I would meet anybody anywhere, where I thought there was the slightest chance of doing any good, as long as it was in keeping with what the American people expect of their Chief Executive. In other words, I wouldn’t want to just say, ‘Yes, I will go anywhere.’ I would go to any suitable spot, let’s say halfway between, and talk with anybody, and with the full knowledge of our allies and friends as to the kind of thing I was talking about, because this business of defending freedom is a big job. It is not just one nation’s job.” (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953, pages 69–70)