321. Editorial Note
At a meeting of the National Security Council on July 28, during a briefing of the Council by Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles, there was some discussion relating to China. The relevant portion of a memorandum of the discussion reads as follows: [Page 682]
“Mr. Allen Dulles then asked Secretary Dulles to relate to the Council the Secretary’s conversation with Premier Bulganin in Geneva. Secretary Dulles said Bulganin told him the USSR was no longer sending military equipment to China. Secretary Dulles, thinking he had misunderstood Bulganin, replied that we were aware that China was ‘lousy’ with MIG’s and other equipment which could only have come from the USSR. Bulganin repeated his statement that no military aid was being extended by the USSR to China now. Bulganin added that considerable Soviet equipment had been sent to China, but that this had turned out to be a very expensive operation. He said only economic aid was now being given to China.
“The President interposed at this point to relate part of a conversation which he had had with Khrushchev. The President said he told Khrushchev the USSR should use its good offices to keep China from undertaking a course of action which would be disastrous for the entire world. Khrushchev replied that the President was probably right.
“The Director of Central Intelligence, commenting on Secretary Dulles’ conversation with Bulganin, said that the Soviet leader was either lying, ignorant of the true situation, or that military aid to China had ceased the day the statement was made. Mr. Dulles then read a detailed listing of Soviet military aid shipped to China, including planes, ships, submarines, and aviation fuel.
“Secretary Dulles said there did exist the possibility of his having misunderstood Bulganin, because the interpreter was very poor. Possibly the interpreter had failed to distinguish between giving equipment and selling Soviet equipment to the Chinese.” (Memorandum of discussion by Bromley Smith, July 28; Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records)
For Dulles’ memorandum of his conversation with Bulganin on July 21, see Document 313. No other record of the exchange with Khrushchev to which the President referred has been found in Department of State files or Eisenhower Library.