Moscow Nights by Nigel Cliff

Author:Nigel Cliff [Cliff, Nigel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-08-10T22:00:00+00:00

After lunch, tempers flared again when Khrushchev vowed to support Mao if he attacked the ousted Chinese nationalists in Taiwan, whom the United States still recognized as the legitimate rulers of China and was committed to defending. When they reverted to Berlin, and Khrushchev insisted on a fixed timetable for negotiations, Eisenhower angrily rescinded his agreement to attend the Paris summit and visit the Soviet Union. After hurried discussions, a compromise was reached in which Eisenhower would state his point of view at the coming press conference and Khrushchev would not contradict him.

The Soviet leader’s trip had been utter chaos, with any number of diplomatic incidents that could have resulted in a dangerous fiasco. In light of that possibility, it had to be counted a success. Little concrete progress was made, but both sides accepted the need for a nuclear test ban treaty, a German solution, and a permanent means to lowering tensions. Eisenhower found Khrushchev as verbose and ebullient as Stalin was enigmatic and controlled, but he decided he could talk to him. His advisers concluded that the Soviet premier was a very difficult but remarkable man who was open to new ideas so long as they could be reconciled with Communist ideology and who wanted and needed peace in order to carry out his vision. For all his panting and steaming, Khrushchev had relished being the star of his own American show. He had put a very human face on the Soviet Union, and many Americans had responded. “Nikita, come again!” crowds chanted as the Tu-114’s huge propellers started up and the vast plane lumbered down the runway. One last tragedy was narrowly averted when the plane barely managed to clear the treetops as it began the five-thousand-mile return flight to Moscow.

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