Directive Sent to Cde. Roshchin, Soviet Representative, Geneva

Per Point 39, Prot. No. 73^[1]

Secret

Geneva

Soviet Representative – Com. Roshchin

271. Tell Foster that those editorial revisions which were proposed by the Americans and English on 2 March are acceptable to us. Along with these revisions, our formulation is the following:

“With regard to any state which dares to unleash aggression with the use of nuclear weapons and violates in such a manner international peace and security or embarks on the path of a threat of the use of nuclear weapons, measures will be taken to prevent aggression or to eliminate the threat of aggression in accordance with the UN Charter.”

If you cannot come to agreement with the Americans and English on their acceptance of this formulation, then you can give concurrence to the revision that was transmitted to you by Foster on 4 March, proposing however to underscore that in regard to a potential aggressor effective measures will be taken in accordance with the UN Charter. In this case, a corresponding sentence would be in the following (with the proposed change underlined):

“Therefore any state which perpetrates aggression with the use of nuclear weapons or which would threaten such aggression, must know, that it actions will be repelled in an effective manner through the use of measures which must be taken in accordance with the charter of the Organizations of United Nations for neutralizing aggression or to eliminate the threat of aggression.”

Proceed from the premise that the draft resolution of the Security Council on the issue of safeguards is to be presented to the Committee of 18 after the fact that the text of the nuclear weapons states’ declarations are approved.

Telegraph when carried out.

^[1] Translator’s Note: The following information is extracted from Protocol No. 73 of the CPSU CC Politburo meeting, finalized on 11 March 1968 and covering numerous resolutions made during 4 to 11 March 1968. A number of decisions were made during the meeting and listed in numbered points, including Point 39.