This issue begins by denouncing British and French aggression against Egypt during the Suez Canal Crisis. It also includes a Chinese statement about the Soviet Declaration "to Strengthen Friendship and Cooperation [with] Other Socialist States," which acknowledges tensions between socialist countries and the need to address people's demands in Hungary and Poland. The next sections feature a message from Zhou Enlai to János Kádár, who would lead Hungary after the failed Revolution of 1956, and Sino-Nepali correspondence.

After lightly rebuking Hoxha's choices to use public trials for the executions of political criminals, Khrushchev reassures Hoxha of the Soviet Union's support for Albania, and concludes with a summary of the Soviet Union's current standing in the international sphere.

Liu Shaoqi, Peng Zhen, and Gomułka discuss problems within the communist bloc since 1956.

The Polish general staff analyzes the military obligations mandated by the Warsaw Treaty and how stated obligations are not compatible with Polish policy. Proposals for revision of the military articles of the Warsaw Treaty are outlined.

Mao Zedong held this conversation with Yudin in the context of the emerging dispute between Beijing and Moscow on establishing a Chinese-Soviet joint submarine flotilla.

The Soviet-Polish talks at the Belve-dere Palace began at about 11 a.m. on October 19 and ended at 3 a.m. on October 20. The talks included Khrushchev, Mikoyan, Molotov, and Kaganovich on the Soviet side, and Gomulka, with fourteen members of the PUWP Politburo, on the Polish side. Zawadzki made detailed notes and endeavored to include comments made by a wider range of participants on both sides.

Gomulka describes the 1956 Polish protests and his confrontation with Soviet authorities.

Liu Shaoqi discusses the potential withdrawal of Soviet advisors from China. Although the Chinese government was considering sending back some specialist, they did not want the abrupt removal of all specialists as happened in Yugoslavia. Liu Shaoqi also brings up the 1956 uprisings in Hungary and Poland, saying that such events were a “useful lesson for the entire communist movement.”

Gomulka's private notes from the Soviet-Russian confrontation at Belvedere Palace.

Radio Free Europe, State Department, and CIA officials review Radio Free Europe broadcasts to Poland in response to State Department criticism