Cuban Missile Crisis and the test ban treaty (1962–1964)

Superpower tensions culminated in the Cuban Missile Crisis (in the USSR, the "Caribbean crisis") of October 1962, as the Soviet Union sought to install medium-range nuclear missiles in Cuba, about 90 miles (140 km) from the U.S. coast.[32] Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro was reluctant to accept the missiles, and, once he was persuaded, warned Khrushchev against transporting the missiles in secret. Castro stated, thirty years later, "We had a sovereign right to accept the missiles. We were not violating international law. Why do it secretly—as if we had no right to do it? I warned Nikita that secrecy would give the imperialists the advantage."[230]

On 16 October, Kennedy was informed that U-2 flights over Cuba had discovered what were most likely medium-range missile sites, and though he and his advisors considered approaching Khrushchev through diplomatic channels, they could come up with no way of doing this that would not appear weak.[231] On 22 October, Kennedy addressed his nation by television, revealing the missiles' presence and announcing a blockade of Cuba. Informed in advance of the speech but not (until one hour before) the content, Khrushchev and his advisors feared an invasion of Cuba. Even before Kennedy's speech, they ordered Soviet commanders in Cuba that they could use all weapons against an attack—except atomic weapons.[232]

As the crisis unfolded, tensions were high in the U.S.; less so in the Soviet Union, where Khrushchev made several public appearances and went to the Bolshoi Theatre to hear American opera singer Jerome Hines.[32][233] By 25 October, with the Soviets unclear about Kennedy's full intentions, Khrushchev decided that the missiles would have to be withdrawn from Cuba.[234] Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in exchange for a U.S. promise not to invade Cuba and a secret promise that the U.S. would withdraw missiles from Turkey.[235] As the last term was not publicly announced at the request of the U.S., and was not known until just before Khrushchev's death in 1971,[32] the resolution was seen as a great defeat for the Soviets and contributed to Khrushchev's fall less than two years later.[32] Castro had urged Khrushchev to launch a preemptive nuclear attack on the U.S. in the event of an invasion of Cuba,[236] and was angered by the outcome, referring to Khrushchev in profane terms.[237]

After the crisis, superpower relations improved, as Kennedy gave a conciliatory speech on 10 June 1963, recognizing the Soviet people's suffering during World War II, and paying tribute to their achievements.[238]Khrushchev called the speech the best by a U.S. president since Franklin D. Roosevelt, and, in July, negotiated a test ban treaty with U.S. negotiator Averell Harriman and Lord Hailsham of the United Kingdom.[239] Plans for a second Khrushchev-Kennedy summit were dashed by Kennedy's assassination in November 1963. The new U.S. president, Lyndon Johnson, hoped for continued improved relations but was distracted by other issues and had little opportunity to develop a relationship with Khrushchev before the premier was ousted.[240]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchev

 

READ FROM TOP.

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

 

• 18 February 2025

  10:31 GMT

  Russia sees “a nervous and almost panic-like reaction” from the West to the talks in Saudi Arabia, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova has stated. “We witness an unprecedented phenomenon in the international relations. [The West] is trying to impose its participation in the negotiation process,” she said.

• 10:06 GMT

  The Russian and US delegations will continue their talks in Riyadh after a short break, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. She added that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov plans to speak to reporters after the end of the negotiations.

• 09:49 GMT

  EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has told Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, that the bloc “is carrying its full share of military assistance to Ukraine and stands ready to do even more,” according to the readout of the conversation. She also stressed that any resolution of the conflict “must respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, backed by strong security guarantees.”

• 09:42 GMT

  Ukraine has every right to seek EU membership as a sovereign country, Peskov has said. “We are talking about economic integration processes. Here, no one can dictate anything to any country... We have a completely different position on issues related to security, defense, or military alliances. Here, we have a different and well-known approach.”

• 09:37 GMT

  Russia has always been ready to negotiate peace in the Ukraine conflict, Peskov said, arguing that the same was not true about Kiev, the EU, and the Biden administration. “The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. And, of course, we prefer peaceful means to achieve them.”

• 09:27 GMT

  It is still unclear when Putin and Trump could have a face-to-face meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told reporters. “Perhaps some estimates will appear based on the results of today’s talks. But we will find out about this later, at the end of this dialogue.”

• 09:27 GMT

  The EU Commission has released a short clip of its president, Ursula von der Leyen, welcoming Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Earlier, several media outlets drew attention to the fact that the retired general is not present at the US-Russia talks in Riyadh.

• 08:47 GMT

  Major US oil companies could “at some point” return to doing business in Russia, RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev has told the New York Times. “We believe at some point they will be coming back, because why would they forego these opportunities that Russia gave them to have access to Russian natural resources?”

• 08:10 GMT

  RDIF head Dmitriev believes that Russia and the US could cooperate on a number of Arctic projects. “The Biden administration has spread a lot of disinformation... Our dialogue [with the Trump administration] allows us to show the truth that the Russian economy is developing at a good pace. We also need to work on joint projects, for example, in the Arctic and other areas,” he said.

https://www.rt.com/news/612888-russia-us-talks-ukraine-saudi-live/

 

 

READ FROM TOP.

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky