Greetings

Gregori Fedorovitch Rezanov, the Soviet Union's first Minister to Colombia, got an unhappy welcome when he arrived at the Bogota airport. Because of a Foreign Office bungle, no Colombian dignitaries met him. Uninvited local Communists infested the airport, carried his baggage, muscled into his news pictures, acutely embarrassed Mr. Rezanov. The Bogota press was generally cordial. Privately, Colombians wondered why the new Russian Legation had a staff of 34 while Colombia was represented at Moscow by a single, lonely Minister. Probable reason: the Soviet Union wants to train diplomats for use in other Latin American countries which may recognize it eventually.* As yet, Minister Rezanov and most of his staff speak no Spanish.

* The U.S.S.R. is recognized by Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Uruguay. Friendly gestures have been made by Brazil and Chile.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.