29 December 1982
Mrs. Anne Eaton
The Last Resort
109 Columbus Drive
Islamorada, FL 33036
Dear Anne:
I have now returned from the visit to Moscow.
The celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Soviet Union
was a great affair. Some three thousand people attended the meetings, which were held
in the Congress Hall in the Kremlin. The ceremony consisted almost entirely of speeches,
the major one being by Soviet leader Yuri Andropov. There was, of course, simultaneous
translation of the speeches into eight languages. I was well pleased with Andropov’s
speech, except for his emphasis on the continued development of nuclear weapons and
their delivery vehicles and his pledge to keep even with the United States in destructive
power. He made several proposals about a nuclear freeze and a decrease in militarism
with the condition that the United States agree.
I was able to speak over Moscow radio and Moscow TV, and to develop the idea
that the two nations should take unilateral actions in the direction of decreased
militarism, instead of insisting on detailed treaties. I have no heard anything about
the response to my radio and television statements.
Cordially,
LP:dm
