This concept paper addresses the need to base decisions about the nature of military cooperation on the Soviet Union’s long term goal of ending the arms race and moving toward disarmament. It also details how this decision-making should look in specific developing countries in which the Soviet Union has an interest.

The Soviet meeting with Saddam Hussein resulted in affirmation of Soviet-Iraqi cooperation, arrangements to improve Soviet-Iraqi relations, evaluation of Iraqi-Iranian relations, discussion of Kurdish autonomy within Iraq, and emphasis to strengthen relations with other Arab countries.

In this report, the Soviet Union informs the East German government that during their talks with the Iraqi delegation, led by Saddam Hussein, the Soviets stated that the Arab states must first end the policy of separate deals in order to resolve many Middle East problems. The Soviet Union addressed the need to stop imperialistic and anti-Arab policies in the Middle East.

During the visit of Saddam Hussein to the Soviet Union, the delegation discussed with Soviet leaders the need for strengthening Iraqi-Soviet relations to give positive guidance on the situation in the Middle East. The Iraqi delegation also promoted their intention to develop relations with other Arab states in order to decrease the effects of imperialism. Topics of discussion also included Iraqi oil policy and domestic conflict.

In a meeting initiated by Saddam Hussein with Leonid Brezhnev, Alexei Kosygin, Andrei Gromyko, and Boris Ponomarev, the Iraqi leader discussed relations with the Soviet state, United States involvement in the Middle East, border conflict, and the development of the Iraqi economy.

Materials provided by former KGB archivist Vasili Mitrokhin to CWIHP, following the publication of the Working Paper No. 40, "The KGB in Afghanistan." As with all Mitrokhin’s notes, his compilation on Soviet “active measures” in South and Southwest Asia is based on other smuggled-out notes and was prepared especially for CWIHP. Please read the Notes on Sources for information on the nature and limitations of these documents.

The Soviet leadership discusses the state of Soviet foreign policy after the Hungarian crisis and Khrushchev’s visit to the US. Molotov criticizes Khrushchev for recklessness in foreign policy direction. Soviet inroads in the Middle East and the Third World are analyzed. The effects of the crises in Eastern Europe are placed in the context of the struggle against US imperialism.