Czechoslovakia participated in the Ten Nation Committee on Disarmament, a short-lived outfit which was mired in superpower infighting and consequently made no substantive progress. This letter, written from Czechoslovakia’s Foreign Minister Václav David to Prime Minister Viliam Široký, is nonetheless informative, as its attachment contains a memorandum outlining Soviet proposals for general and complete disarmament in three phases.
August 2, 1963
Antonín Gregor, 'Explanatory Memorandum [on the Limited Test Ban Treaty]'
This document was made possible with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)
A report produced by the Czechoslovak foreign ministry in August 1963 recommending the ratification of Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT). One of the key goals of early Czechoslovak engagement in the ENDC was to reject a nuclear test ban, based on their rejection of any verification measures. However, once the Soviets agreed to the LTBT with the US and the United Kingdom, the Czechoslovak foreign ministry praised the agreement and attacked those (such as China) who resisted the measure. One interesting aspect of the treaty was the proposed role of depositary powers. The document indicates that the Soviets were interested in being a depositary power to the LTBT in order to prevent ratification by governments not recognized by the USSR, most notably West Germany and the Republic of China. The issue of depositary powers reappeared later on, in the NPT as well.
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