Letter from Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, to His Excellency Mr. Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union

Translation from English

Delivered to Cde. N. S. Khrushchev

by K. P. S. Menon, Ambassador of India

in the USSR, on 21 July 1958

MESSAGE

of Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, to his Excellency Mr. Khrushchev, Prime Minister of the Soviet Union, 20 July 1958

Dear Mr. Prime Minister.

I have just received the text of the message which you addressed to me. I am sending this reply immediately in view of the urgency and vital importance of the content of your message.

I thank you for the message which you sent. I completely agree with you that we have undergone one of the most serious crises in the history of humanity and that at the present moment of danger the duty of both governments as well as of others is to approach these questions with wisdom and calm, and not employ any measures which might worsen this situation and cause a worldwide conflagration. Whatever the views of governments are on other questions, reason and even ego force us to draw the conclusion that the preservation of peace has primary importance for all of us and that war needs to be avoided. This means that this and other similar questions need to be approached not with the aid of military force and pressure, but to preserve the peace with the aid of calm negotiations and a firm determination.

You know, Mr. Prime Minister, our firm conviction that the armed intervention of a foreign power in any country is undesirable to the highest degree and that foreign troops ought to be withdrawn from those countries where they have entered. This not only corresponds to the justice and freedom of countries of which we are speaking, but also allows international complications to be avoided which might lead to a catastrophe. Therefore we have called upon the governments of the US and Great Britain to withdraw [their] troops from Lebanon and Jordan.

We would welcome a peaceful approach in the form of negotiations through the UN or its Security Council, or another means with the object of helping the United Nations to undertake steps to avert a conflict in the region of the Near and Middle East. We are always ready to offer our services for this goal any time they are requested and when they are needed.

I thank you for your kind invitation to India to take part in the conference of heads of government [which] you have proposed. If there is agreement to hold such a conference it should not be difficult to set an immediate site and a close date. We will happily offer our services for this in the interests of peace if they are needed. As far as I understand, the conference you propose has a distinct and separate nature from the high-level or summit conference which has already been discussed for some time now. The current proposal was made with the limited purpose of solving the critical situation which has arisen in the Middle East.

with sincere respect,

            Jawarharlal Nehru

Translated by: [signature]

                        O. Troyanovsky