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February 22, 1963

Comment of N. S. Khrushchev [on China's Publication of Khrushchev's Speech at the 6th SED Congress]

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Comment of N. S. Khrushchev

25 February 1963, displaying a telegram, N.S. said: vo [SIC] Chervonenko “was angry”. He said, when he delivered a letter (Mao Zedong did not accept it then), they passed it to him that Mao Zedong would accept it. When he arrived at Mao Zedong’s, Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai were there. Mao Zedong said that we, too, want to stop this work - speaking against you, we will only speak to the French Communist Party with an explanation; but concerning a meeting we are also ready at any level.

But then some provocateur reported that I was going to India; Mao Zedong said that here Khrushchev is going to India, maybe through China, and we’ll talk.

Interesting. We outlined this very correct tactic, and it is already bearing its fruits. Even without an agreement that’s what will be evident to all the Communist Parties, that we are not to blame, we did not start the fight, and we are not doing it. Mao Zedong is doing this and has considered that he has already calculated; the arithmetic that it is not in their favor is absolutely correct right now.

 

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On 25 February 1963, Khrushchev commented on China's publication of his speech at the 6th SED Congress, noting that Chinese leaders, including Mao Zedong, indicated a willingness to stop public criticism of the Soviet Union and discuss issues directly. Khrushchev observed that this shift reflected the success of the USSR’s restrained approach, emphasizing that it would be clear to other Communist parties that the Soviet Union was not responsible for the dispute.

 

 


Document Information

Source

RGANI, f. 52, op. 1, d. 599, l. 4. Contributed by Sergey Radchenko and translated by Gary Goldberg.

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2021-09-09

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270593