193. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the Soviet Union0
2571. To Ambassador for Salinger from Bundy. The President wants to be sure that no impression is given that you have come to Moscow to talk substantive matters with Khrushchev. Therefore, in any public discussion of your meetings with him you should take the following line: first, the meetings were informal and took place entirely at the Chairmanʼs initiative; second, your own discussion of substantive matters was confined entirely to the field of wider exchanges of information, such as the proposed TV exchange; and third, the rest of the conversation on your side was entirely informal and personal.
If the conversation was limited in the same way on Khrushchevʼs side, you should emphasize that fact. But if Khrushchev has used the occasion for a serious presentation of his substantive views, and if you believe that this fact will become known in Moscow, you should make it plain that while the Chairman expressed certain substantive views to you, you confined yourself to listening, because you had no authority from the President to engage in any policy discussions.1
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 101/5-1262. Confidential; Niact. Drafted by Bundy. According to Salinger, when he, Sorensen, and Akalovsky arrived at Sheremetyevo Airport late in the afternoon on May 11, they were met by Ambassador Thompson who told Salinger that he was going to spend the next day with Khrushchev. (Salinger, With Kennedy, p. 222) Since he had not been expecting to talk with Khrushchev, Salinger, after a quick briefing at the Embassy, cabled the President for instructions. No copy of this telegram has been found. The source text is the White House response.↩
- Source text not signed.↩