443. NSC Executive Committee record of action, October 281
1. The full Tass text of Khrushchev’s reply to the President offering to withdraw Soviet offensive weapons from Cuba under UN supervision was read by those present.
2. Secretary McNamara reported that the Soviet tanker Graznyy was standing still and that no other Bloc ships would be entering the quarantine zone today.
3. The President directed that no air reconnaissance missions be flown today, that no action be taken against Bloc ships today, but that every effort be made to get the UN to fly reconnaissance missions Monday. The President authorized the release to UN officials of classified information on Soviet armaments in Cuba in order to facilitate the UN inspection task.
4. The President approved a public statement welcoming the Soviet decision to withdraw offensive weapons from Cuba. He agreed that we should read offensive weapons to include bombers, but should not get hung up on this issue.
5. The President asked all those backgrounding the press to be reserved in all comment. Although we welcome Khrushchev’s reply, we are under no illusions nor can we reach any general conclusions about how the Russians will act in the future in areas other than Cuba. Khrushchev’s decision has to be implemented and many serious problems will be encountered in the withdrawal of Soviet weapons from Cuba.
6. The President directed that a reply to Khrushchev be drafted for delivery today. The reply was later approved by the President and released to the press.
- Khrushchev message; blockade; air reconnaissance missions; public statement on Soviet decision to withdraw offensive weapons from Cuba; press relations; reply to Khrushchev. Top Secret. 1 p. Kennedy Library, NSF, Meetings and Memoranda Series, Excon Meetings, vol. I, Meetings 6–10.↩