The Foreign Service Journal, February 2009

A t 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 13, 1961, I found myself walking briskly from Spaso House, the storied U.S. ambassador’s residence in Moscow, to the U.S. embassy on “the ring” one mile away. My feet crunched in the light dusting of snow that cov- ered up some of the tackiness of Moscow’s fading architecture. It was bitterly cold, but I was warmed by the adrenaline coursing through my sys- tem following the most dramatic nego- tiation I had ever experienced. It had been the second of four ses- sions Ambassador Llywellyn Thomp- son had with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko on the tense dispute over access to Berlin. The meeting began with a 40-minute diatribe by Gromyko, who pounded his chair arm as he denounced the United States and its allies for clinging to the “archaic claims” of four-power sovereignty over the former (and future) German capi- tal. The climax came when Gromy- ko reiterated Nikita Khrushchev’s ulti- matum to theWest to accept East Ger- man sovereignty over West Berlin or find itself forcibly expelled. He stated that if the U.S. persisted in rejecting Moscow’s reasonable proposals, it would have only itself to blame for any catastrophe that might follow — even such unthinkable things as the inciner- ation of New York City! Amb. Thompson sat calmly listen- ing — chain-smoking, as was his wont. Although fluent in English, Gromyko spoke in Russian, which was then translated by the ubiquitous Foreign Ministry English-language expert, Vic- tor Sukhodrev. For me, the double presentation was critical. I was able to sketch out Gromyko’s denunciations in Russian and then flesh out his remarks from the translation. At the end, Gromyko looked up at Amb. Thompson, who continued to drag on his ever-present cigarette. After what seemed like 15 minutes but was probably 30 seconds, he snuffed it out and looked impassively at his in- terlocutor. Still he said nothing. Fi- nally, Gromyko blurted out, “Well, Mr. Ambassador…,” to which Thompson very deliberately and softly said: “Mr. Foreign Minister, I deeply re- gret that the policy of your government has required you to put on such a per- formance. You know as well as I that if there is to be a nuclear exchange be- tween our two great nations, the incin- eration will be of the Soviet Union, which will disappear from the face of the earth. I will report your remarks to my government with deep disappoint- ment.” With that he and I rose and de- parted, leaving Gromyko ashen-faced and clearly embarrassed in front of his colleagues, Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Semyonov and Sukhodrev. We strode out to our car. I returned to the embassy to dictate a virtually ver- batim account of the meeting in the form of an “eyes only” flash telegram to President Dwight Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. Within the hour, I went to Spaso House, where the ambassador refined my notes. (He gave me the privilege of reviewing his impressions and even making some suggestions.) When I went to take the car back to the em- bassy, where the message would be ca- bled, the driver had mysteriously disappeared. I called the embassy, but no car was available. So I folded the drafts, pressed them into my pocket and set off on foot. Initially, I entertained some con- cern about the security of walking through the streets of Moscow with such an important document on my person, but after brief reflection, I re- alized I had probably never been safer in my life. For it was of the utmost im- portance to the Soviet government that the account of this meeting get to Washington as soon as possible. As I walked through the snow, my heart still beat with the excitement of the confrontation. I mulled over the admiration I felt for my ambassador and the cold-blooded, totally com- pelling response he had given to the obviously flustered Gromyko. In retrospect, it probably was as close to World War III as we came. Kempton Jenkins is a retired Foreign Service officer who served mostly in Russia and Europe. The meeting began with an uninterrupted 40-minute diatribe by Gromyko. 72 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 9 R EFLECTIONS A Confrontation in Moscow B Y K EMPTON J ENKINS