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July 26, 1961

Report on the 1st conference of the non-aligned countries of September 1st, 1961 sent by Tahmaz Beqari, the Albanian ambassador in Belgrade, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania

The conference of non-aligned countries in Belgrade was organized when Indonesia and other countries of Asia and Africa were attempting to organize a Second Bandung Conference. Tito and Nehru, trying to minimize the influence of China in the Asian and African countries, initiated a conference that they called the Conference of Non-Aligned Countries in Belgrade. The document discusses the 24 participating countries, the agenda, the proceedings, the different groups among the delegation and the two main documents that the conference adopted: the manifesto and the declaration. The manifesto, titled “The Danger from the War and the Call for Peace,” according to the Albanian ambassador, was adopted in a revisionist spirit, calling on Khrushchev and Kennedy to maintain peace. Meanwhile, the declaration criticized colonialism and imperialism. The Belgrade conference did not decide on any specific issues and did not reach any important conclusions. In Albania, a week after the conference, the journal “Zeri i Popullit” (Voice of the People) wrote an article in which it identified Tito as an agent of imperialism and stated that Yugoslavia was not an non-aligned country as it participated in the Balkan Pact.

September 3, 1961

Telegram from the Albanian ambassador in Belgrade, Tahmaz Beqari, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania

The ambassador reports on the proceedings of the Belgrade conference of non-aligned countries, and about the differences and nuances of the stances of various delegations. Except India, Libya, and the United Arab Republic, all delegations were in favor of China’s participation in the United Nations. In addition, Nehru pointed out that colonialism is in agony while the Ghanaian, Cuban, Iraqi, Nepalese and Ethiopian delegations claimed to the contrary. When Dorticós, the Cuban President, began unmasking American imperialism, the diplomats of Western countries left the conference. The diplomats of friendly countries, according to Beqari, called the speeches of the conference “80% positive.”

May 20, 1969

Letter from Gamal Abdel Nasser sent to Haxhi Lleshi

This document is a letter from the United Arab Republic President Gamal Abdel Nasser to Haxhi Lleshi, the Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Council of the People's Republic of Albania. President Nasser appreciates the support of the People’s Republic of Albania for the UAR struggle against imperialism and Zionism. Nasser reveals that the policy of the UAR is based on the principle of non-alignment in order to decrease the chance of hostilities between the two blocs and to increase the prospect of peace. In addition, the UAR objects having foreign bases or foreign troops on its territory and asks for their liquidation elsewhere. In the case of a Soviet ship anchoring at a UAR port, this does not imply that the Soviet Union uses that port as its own base. Nasser also adds that the United States openly supports Israel and its 6th Fleet is a sign of an American guarantee to Israel in its ventures directed against the UAR. On the other hand, the presence of Soviet fleet units in the Mediterranean has hindered the transformation of the region into an American lake. As a consequence, the Soviet presence in the Mediterranean establishes equilibrium there. This document contains both the original Arabic letter and the Albanian translation of the original.

June 15, 1961

Telegram from the vice-minister of foreign affairs of Albania, Vasil Nathanalili, to the Albanian embassy in Budapest

The person-in-charge of the Hungarian embassy in Tirana informed Vasil Skorovoti, the Albanian diplomat in the Albanian Foreign ministry, that the Hungarian government wants to consult with the friendly governments of the socialist camp on the proposal to have the same stance on the non-aligned countries conference. The Hungarian government does not approve of the conference, but it thinks that the divisions among the non-aligned countries should be exploited by the socialist bloc in order to change the character of the conference to one of anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism. The Hungarian government wants to know the Albanian government’s stance on this issue. The Albanian government asks the Albanian embassy in Budapest to gather information on this issue in order to respond to the Hungarian government as soon as possible.

June 14, 1961

Telegram from Gaqo Paze, the Albanian Ambassador to the GDR, to the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Albania

The Chinese ambassador to Berlin expressed to Gaqo Paze that the participation of Cuba in the conference of non-aligned countries, which is to be held in Belgrade, is a positive act because the Cuban representatives will speak out against American imperialism. In addition, the Chinese ambassador said that the act of organizing the conference is not a positive development.

June 6, 1961

Telegram from an official in the Albanian embassy in Beijing Lilo Zeneli to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania

Zeneli writes about his meeting with the 2nd Secretary in the Cuban embassy in Beijing who asked Zeneli about his opinion on the conference of non-aligned countries in Belgrade. Zeneli answered that the Albanian government greets any initiative which aims to help the struggle against imperialism and colonialism with the objective of establishing peace. He also declared that Yugoslavia is not a non-aligned state because it participated in the Balkan military pact with Greece and Turkey, both of which are members of NATO. The 2nd Secretary of Cuba expressed his hope that there will be positive results during the conference that would lessen the international tensions between the two blocs.