356. Telegram From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State1
976. Eyes Only for the Acting Secretary. Geneva Eyes Only for the Secretary. Regarding Deptel 507 (Tedul 10).2Bulganin at my request made through Foreign Office protocol this morning, received me at three p.m. Moscow time today in Kremlin.
I stated that under instructions I wished to deliver message from the President to him.
After he had had it translated to him I asked whether he had any preliminary oral message he wished me transmit. After asking interpreter to repeat slowly the translation second paragraph President’s letter,Bulganin spoke as follows:
He was appreciative of President’s very prompt reply to his own message3 and was glad to know that Secretary had been asked to talk with Molotov in detail. He said this exchange between Secretary and Foreign Minister should make issues clear in same spirit in which President and he had expressed themselves previously.
Bulganin nevertheless evinced surprise at importance attached this transaction between Czechoslovakia and Egypt. He said that in past United States and Western European countries had sold arms to different countries and that no concern had been expressed. For example arms had been sold Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Arabia until recently and there had been no reaction. But now he said so much “noise” is raised about this transaction. Furthermore, Egypt and Israel had bought arms in United States and United States had delivered arms to Egypt, including, he understood, tanks.
He then arrested himself and said that he would not enter further discussion of matter at this time. He repeated his thanks to President for quick reply and stated he was sorry that President in his present state health had to deal with such questions and concluded by requesting that I send his most sincere wishes for good health and fast recovery of President and his warm personal regards.
I said to Prime Minister that I was not in position to comment on what he had to say although I was sure that if he were properly informed the information in his possession and that in the President’s [Page 649] should not differ greatly and that I would merely transmit what he had to say together with his personal messages.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.61/10–2655. Secret; Priority. Received at 11:13 a.m. Repeated priority to Geneva. Transmitted to Denver for Sherman Adams as Toden 2. (Ibid.)↩
- See footnote 4, Document 352.↩
- See Document 349.↩