Cable from the Chinese Embassy in the Soviet Union, 'The Soviet Revisionists Continue to Play Both Sides on the Vietnam Issue'

[stamp] June 22, 1965

[Stamp] Foreign Ministry Soviet and East Europe Department

Soviet Union # 2548

June 28, 1965

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Telegram

Priority: Telegram

From Moscow Station

Foreign Ministry (65) No. Si-1296

The Soviet Revisionists Continue to Play Both Sides on the Vietnam Issue

To the Foreign Ministry:

The Soviet Revisionists, on the Vietnam issue, have continued to pull two-faced tricks, as they vigorously respond to the peace plots of the U.S. Imperialists under the cover of their feigned support for Vietnam.

The Soviet Revisionists, after the “Week of Solidarity”, put on some other phony support activities:

- They called a big meeting of labor activists which expressed its support for the resolution in support of Vietnam passed at the International Labor Conference held recently in Hanoi.

- They started a so-called collect money to support Vietnam movement.

- On June 16 they convened an All-Soviet conference on the struggle to obtain peace, national independence, and disarmament. They plan to make a supplemental report “The Vietnamese People Must Win”.

- The Soviet press is reporting on the articles and speeches of the National Liberation Front somewhat more than before and in a more timely fashion.

- Superficially, they recognize the southern Vietnam “Liberation Press Service” and promised to allow that press service to sent a permanent representative to Moscow.

Phony support however, can't conceal the fact that they have actually sold out. The Soviet Revisionists are carefully preparing opinion to accept the new “peace plot” of the U.S. Imperialists. The emphasis on supporting Vietnam has dropped off. For a long time there has been no mention in official contexts of the Vietnamese government's Four Positions for solving the Vietnam issue. Officials do not bring up the issue of sending volunteers. Moreover, they don't dare to make a big thing of Johnson's announcement that U.S. Forces would engage in direct combat. There was no official comment either. The Soviet press still relies on the western wire services for its reporting on the recent string of big victories by the Vietnamese people and does not use the combat reporting of the “Liberation News Service”.

At the same time, the Soviet Revisionists are still discussing “peace talks”. The Soviet press has repeatedly reported the statements on Montgomery and U Thant on the “peaceful resolution” and “political resolution” of the Vietnam issue. Moreover joint communiques by the Soviet Union and Norway and another by the Soviet Union and Sweden declared that international conflicts should be resolved through peace negotiations. A point especially worth noting is that the Soviet Revisionists, in the name of preparing for a World Peace Conference, howls that the deteriorating international situation will lead to a world war, preaches co-existence to all the countries of the world, and aims to create an atmosphere of “peace” through its preparations for the Helsinki World Peace Congress so that it will resonate with the clamor coming from the western imperialists for “peace talks”.

Embassy Moscow

June 19, 1965

Distribution: Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, Peng Zhen, Chen Yi, Kang Sheng, Luo Ruiqing, Yang Shangkun, Central General Office Confidential Department, Foreign Affairs Office, Central Propaganda Office; Central Liaison Department, Central Investigation Department, Military Intelligence Office, Lengxi, Muzhi,

Luo, [illegible], Wang, Han, Liu, Dong, Huan, The General Office, Research Department, Division of Soviet and European Affairs, Second Asian Division, Press, Asia Affairs Office (2), Ambassador, Confidential Office, Archive 53 copies printed

Printed on June 22 at 08:32