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Letters 

John F. Kennedy
In an attempt to end a
potentially catastrophic crisis, President Kennedy sent the following letter
to Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev in response to letters which the Premier
had sent to him in October, 1962.
October 27, 1962
Dear Mr. Chairman,
T he first thing that needs to be done,
however, is for work to cease on offensive missile bases in Cuba and for
all weapons systems in Cuba capable of offensive use to be rendered
inoperable, under effective United Nations arrangements.
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I have read your letter of October 26th with great
care and welcomed the statement of your desire to seek a prompt solution to
the problem. The first thing that needs to be done, however, is for work to
cease on offensive missile bases in Cuba and for all weapons systems in Cuba
capable of offensive use to be rendered inoperable, under effective United
Nations arrangements.
Assuming this is done promptly, I have given my
representatives in New York
instructions that will permit them to work out this weekend - in cooperation
with the Acting Secretary-General and your representatives - an arrangement
for a permanent solution to the Cuban problem along the lines suggested in
your letter of October 26th. As I read your letter, the key elements of your
proposal - which seem generally acceptable as I understand them - are as
follows:
1. You would agree to remove these weapons systems from Cuba under
appropriate United Nations observation and supervision; and undertake, with
suitable safeguards, to halt the further introduction of such weapons systems
into Cuba.
2. We, on our part, would agree - upon the establishment of adequate
arrangements through the United Nations to ensure the carrying out and
continuation of these commitments - (a) to remove promptly the quarantine
measures now in effect and (b) to give reassurances against an invasion of Cuba. I am
confident that other nations of the Western Hemisphere
would be prepared to do likewise.
If you will give your representative similar
instructions, there is no reason why we should not be able to complete these
arrangements and announce them to the world within a couple of days. The
effect of such a settlement on easing world tensions would enable us to work
toward a more general arrangement regarding "other armaments," as
proposed in your second letter which you made public. I would like to say
again that the United
States is very interested in reducing
tensions and halting the arms race; and if your letter signifies that you are
prepared to discuss a detente affecting NATO and the Warsaw Pact, we are
quite prepared to consider with your allies any useful proposals.
But the first ingredient, let me emphasize, is the
cessation of work on missile sites in Cuba and measures to render such
weapons inoperable, under effective international guarantees. The
continuation of this threat, or a prolonging of this discussion concerning Cuba by
linking these problems to the broader questions of European and world
securities, would surely lead to an intensification of the Cuban crisis and a
grave risk to the peace of the world. For this reason I hope we can quickly
agree along the lines outlined in this letter of October 26th.
Sincerely,

John F. Kennedy
[The above letter is reproduced exactly as written
and was obtained through the archives at the Library of Congress]
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