Amidst the chaos of the Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev desperately exchanged a series of letters, attempting to solve the issue before someone made a mistake and escalated the situation into a war. One of JFK’s letters to Khrushchev on October 27, 1962, was perhaps the most critical as they helped finalize terms for a truce by ensuring that all sides reached a deal they could work with and fostering future communication between the two powers.
JFK’s Letter That Ended the Cuban Missile Crisis
In October 1962, the world faced one of the most dangerous moments of the Cold War: the Cuban Missile Crisis. This came about after the US discovered that the Soviet Union had secretly installed nuclear missile silos in Cuba, just a few miles from the US. These missiles had the capability of launching strikes across the entire continental US.
In response, the US blockaded Cuba to prevent more weapons from reaching the island. This created a standoff between the two powers and for 13 days, from October 16 to October 28, both powers were directly confronting one another. The US wanted to prevent more supplies from reaching Cuba while the Soviet Union wished to pass unimpeded.
Many feared that war was on the horizon and military officers prepared for the possible conflict, but while that happened, President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev began secret communications by exchanging letters to find a peaceful solution. Khrushchev and JFK’s letters both tried to find a compromise and explain both their national positions.
October 27, became the boiling point and was often referred to as “Black Saturday”—when a U.S. U-2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba, and Soviet forces on the island were at high alert. But while war seemed inevitable, Khrushchev sent a letter with terms. He promised to remove all missiles from Cuba and not send any more if the US vowed to not invade the island.
The president was anxious to avoid war and JFK’s letter agreed to these terms along with removing mussels from Turkey. JFK’s letter was a major part of de-escalating the situation and paved the way for future negotiations as it led to great communication between the powers, including a direct hotline so the leaders could contact each other directly.
An excerpt of JFK’s letter can be seen below.
“Dear Mr. Chairman,
I have read your letter of October 26th with great care and welcome the statement of your desire to seek a prompt solution to the problem. As I read your letter, the key elements of your proposals—which seem generally acceptable as I understand them—are as follows:
- You would agree to remove these weapons from Cuba under appropriate United Nations observation and supervision; and halt the further introduction of such weapons into Cuba.
- We, on our part, would agree—upon the establishment of adequate arrangements through the United Nations to ensure the carrying out and continuation of these commitments—to remove promptly the quarantine measures now in effect and to give assurances against an invasion of Cuba.
I am confident that other nations of the Western Hemisphere would be prepared to do likewise.
The continuation of this threat by armaments now in Cuba, and the further introduction of such armaments, would represent a grave risk to the peace of the world. I hope we can quickly agree along the lines you have proposed…”
-John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Former President of the United States.
It took two to tango and JFK’s Letter would not have been possible without Nakita Khruschev’s letters that showed his openness to negotiate.
This wasn’t even their first letter exchange as before this, they also had a dispute with the Berlin Wall where JFK’s letter expressed his disapproval.
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