Office of the Historian

205. Letter From President Nixon to Soviet General Secretary Brezhnev1

San Clemente, July 21, 1974.
Dear Mr. General Secretary:

I have received and carefully studied your message concerning Cyprus which was delivered to the White House by your Embassy early today.2 There should be no doubt in your mind, as a result of the views already conveyed to you and the actions of the United States throughout the crisis, that we seek no confrontation of any kind and that we wish to cooperate with you in restoring peace and the previous constitutional arrangements in Cyprus. The United States does not support and has not supported external interference in the affairs of Cyprus. It opposes such interference, whatever the source.

The essential task now is to bring about a cease-fire on Cyprus. This is the goal of our active diplomatic efforts with the parties concerned and of our actions in the United Nations. You should know that we have been in contact, literally round-the-clock, with the parties to induce them to accept a cease-fire at the earliest possible moment. Al [Page 1030] though, as I write to you, these efforts have not yet succeeded, we remain hopeful that they will, and in any case we will continue them intensively.

I trust the Soviet Union will firmly and actively support the goal of an immediate cease-fire as well. Implementation of a ceasefire will make possible negotiations, as proposed by the UK and endorsed by the UN Security Council, for the purpose of restoring peace, the constitutional order and the independence of the country. I am convinced that this course accords with the purposes set forth in your message.

I have noted the positive comments you have just made on our relations in your speech in Warsaw.3 As you know from my own public statements, I share your satisfaction with what is being accomplished in our relations. In the spirit of those relations, it is my hope that you, like we, will exert maximum efforts to pacify the situation, to end fighting and to bring about negotiations so that the independence and integrity of Cyprus can be restored.

Sincerely,4

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 70, Country Files—Europe—USSR, Dobrynin/Kissinger, Vol. 24. No classification marking. A covering memorandum from Kennedy to Vorontsov indicates that the letter was sent from San Clemente. “Deliver to the Soviet Embassy at 6:00 p.m., 7/21/74” is handwritten at the top of the memorandum.↩
  2. See footnote 2, Document 204.↩
  3. On July 21, Brezhnev deliverad a foreign policy address in Warsaw, where he was attending ceremonies celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Communist regime in Poland. See “Brezhnev Urges Parley Accords,” The New York Times, July 22, 1974, p. 17.↩
  4. Printed from an unsigned copy.↩