53. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski) to President Carter1
SUBJECT
- Daily Report
Information
Soviet Foreign Ministry Instructions on NAM: The Soviet foreign ministry recently sent a message to its missions abroad having interest in the nonaligned movement instructing them to promote the concept of the Cuban leadership role to begin at the sixth NAM summit at Havana and continue for the three years until the next summit at Baghdad.2 A reliable Soviet source who had access to the message [Page 115] reports the ministry also instructed its missions to stress that Cuba has a foreign policy completely independent of Soviet influence and that Cuba’s military involvement in Africa is not directed by Moscow. In this regard, the ministry instructed the missions to downplay Soviet economic aid and other forms of assistance to Cuba and to allude to the possibility that Cuba is receiving aid from other countries.3 (S)
- Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Country File, Box 14, Cuba, 7–8/79. Secret; Sensitive. Printed from an uninitialed copy.↩
- The Non-Aligned Movement Summit was held in Havana from September 3 to September 9.↩
- At the bottom of the page, Carter wrote, “Zbig—Let us do just the opposite—By telling the truth about the Soviet puppet—JC.”↩