SEARCH RESULTS
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October 31, 1962
Cable from Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko to USSR Ambassador to Cuba A. I. Alekseev
Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko cables the Soviet Embassy in Havana that the Soviet leadership had decided to allow UNSG U Thant and his representatives to visit Soviet launchers sites in Cuba and verify that the launchers are being dismantled.
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December 23, 1965
Telegram from John F. Root, Office of Northern African Affairs, 'Subject: Bulgarian Fronting For Russian Interests in Ethiopia'
Observations by Israeli and US diplomats of the Soviet Union's attempt at indirect economic penetration of Ethiopia during the mid-1960s. The Ethiopian regime was suspicious of Soviet intervention, thus they had to resort to the help of the East European states, in this case Bulgaria.
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December 23, 1976
Message from Yugoslav Embassy in Beijing, 'From Our People in Addis Ababa – For Your Information'
A Yugoslav diplomat offers a detailed view of the increasing level of formal contact between the Soviet Bloc and Ethiopia in mid-1976, also witnessing the local competition between the Chinese and the Soviet Bloc and comparing their modes of conduct.
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January 29, 1977
Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 'Urgent note on Aid to Ethiopia from the Countries of the Socialist Community, Including Poland’s'
Discusses the state of affairs in Soviet Bloc-Ethiopian relations, briefly charting other socialist states’ involvement with Addis Ababa during that period. It also draws suggestions for the possible path of relationship expansion between Poland and Ethiopia, including small military deliveries, as suggested by the Soviets.
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July 13, 1977
Conversation with Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC) Chairman Mengistu Haile Mariam
Demonstrates Soviet willingness to provide good offices to Somalia and Ethiopia in normalizing their relationships in July 1977. Even as late as July, Moscow believed the conflict between the two states could be solved through peaceful means.
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September 02, 1977
Message from Yugolav Embassy Addis Ababa, 'The Soviet Ambassador on the Ethiopian-Soviet Relations'
A detailed view of Soviet reactions toward the Ethiopian-Somali conflict as of early September 1977, showing Moscow’s envoy to Addis Ababa’s conviction that Ethiopia would emerge victorious from the war. However, this document also gives a somewhat critical view on the part of Yugoslav’s diplomat regarding the Soviets’ unofficial and unsuccessful attempt to persuade Ethiopia to surrender part of Ogaden in order to appease the Somalis.
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1978
Information from D. Stoyanov to T. Zhivkov on the Internal Situation and Foreign Policy of Ethiopia
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Dimitar Stoyanov reports on the political situation in Ethiopia during the late 1970s. The economic hardship is pushing Mengistu’s government to accept Western aid, in addition to the support it is getting from the Soviet bloc. Mengistu also seems to be critical of the anti-Soviet policy of China.
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January 16, 1978
British Foreign Office, 'Soviet Role in the Horn of Africa'
Drawing upon British concerns with respect to their possible reaction to Moscow’s support for Ethiopia against Somalia’s aggression, the Foreign Office Planning Staff looks into the wider international implications of the conflict in the Horn.
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February 10, 1978
Memorandum of Conversation between East German official Paul Markovski and CPSU CC International Department head Boris N. Ponomarev in Moscow
The two men discussed the current situation in Ethiopia and focused on the assistance the Soviet Union and Cuba was providing to the Ethiopians. They also talked about the role the United States was playing in the Horn of Africa
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July 20, 1978
Report on Mengistu's Visit to the Soviet Union to discuss Soviet-Ethiopian Relations
While in the Soviet Union, Haile Mariam Mengistu spoke with Leonid Brezhnev about the current revolutionary and economic situation in Ethiopia. The report addresses the Ethiopian desire to create a revolutionary party, as well as the conflict in Eritrea and relations with Somalia and Djibouti.
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September, 1978
Report on the Visit to Ethiopia by the Soviet Party-Government Delegation
The Soviet Union along with other socialist countries were invited to Ethiopia to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the Ethiopian revolution. The report discusses Soviet-Ethiopian relations, improvement of the Ethiopian political situation, the arms race, and foreign policy.
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September, 1979
Report on A. N. Kosygin’s Official Visit to Ethiopia
Meeting and negotiations between A. N. Kosygin and Haile Mariam Mengistu. The report discusses Ethiopian use of force to solve internal conflict, concern over neighboring countries, agricultural initiatives, and Mengistu's plan to create a new political party in Ethiopia. The meeting concludes with an agreement that the Soviet Union will provide assistance to Ethiopia in exploration of oil, education, and machinery.
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August 18, 1981
Telegram from Czechoslovak Embassy in Addis Ababa
Prague’s representation to Addis Ababa offers an insight into the Soviet Union’s economic assistance toward Ethiopia in the early 1980s, while voicing, at the same time, the Soviet economic delegation’s nuanced and candid impression of Mengistu’s abilities to control the course of the revolutionary transformations.