This letter sent from Wladislaw Gomulka to Nicolae Ceausescu requests Romanian support in the effort to unite the socialist countries of Asia and the Warsaw Pact, through relations with China, to counter United States' aggression in Vietnam in solidarity with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
January 26, 1966
Letter from Nicolae Ceausescu to Comrade Wladislaw Gomulka, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers Party, Warsaw
Dear Comrade,
We received you letter of January 5, 1966 as well as the copy of the letter which the Central Committee of the Polish U.W.P. addressed to the Central Committee of the Chinese C.P., dated December 28, 1965 and we would like to thank you for the briefing regarding the content of the letter that the C.C. f the Polish U.W.P. addressed to the C.C. of the Chinese C.P.
Starting off from the necessity of strictly respecting the principles that stand at the basis of the relations between the socialist countries, the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party considers that any action undertaken in support of the struggle of the Vietnamese people can be examined only after obtaining prior knowledge of the opinion of the D. R. Vietnam in connection with the manner that it considers the most appropriate for assistance to be accorded by each socialist country. Given that, in case you consider it useful, we ask you to inform us of the position of the D. R. Vietnam regarding your proposal.
Taking into account the above, we consider that the initiative made by the C.C. of the Polish U.W.P. to the C.C. of the Chinese C.P. constitutes an issue exclusively regarding those two parties.
The Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party and the government of the Socialist Republic of Romania have accorded and do accord aid in the form of material and armament, as well as full political support in the international arena, to the just struggle conducted by the Vietnamese people.
With Communist Greetings,
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party,
Nicolae Ceausescu
This letter is the response of Nicolae Ceausescu to Wladislaw Gomulka to his letter of January 5th, in which he states that he does not wish to involve Romania in the relations between China and Poland, but requests to be kept informed of the Vietnamese response to the outreach effort of the Warsaw Pact and Asian socialist countries.
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ANR, Fond CC al PCR, Secţia Relaţii Externe, dosar 5/P – Ceausescu, January 26, 1966, f. 8-9. Translated by Larry L. Watts
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