Halfway Coexistence

While Khrushchev was busy denouncing the U.S. in Austria, his subordinates in Moscow were acting as if some of their best friends were Americans. Almost 300 of the cream of Moscow society showed up for the U.S. embassy's Fourth of July celebration. Among them: First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan, Secretaries Frol Kozlov and Nikolai Ignatov.

So many people arrived for the party, including busloads of American tourists, that one old lady was prompted to remark: "Did President Eisenhower decide to come after all?" Apart from the crowds, the little cakes and flowing Schaumwein, the big three sat on a circular veranda and held an impromptu press conference. In obvious reference to recent speculation that Mikoyan had been downgraded, one correspondent said to him: "It's a very pleasant surprise to see you here, and everyone is commenting on the fact." With heavy humor, Mikoyan replied: "Were you opposed to my coming?" He spoke with all the confidence of his old authority, and has, in fact, been acting as chief of the government in Khrushchev's absence. Asked if Russia had enough tankers to supply Cuba with oil, he answered: "The Soviet Union has enough tankers to supply not only Cuba with oil but if necessary the U.S. as well." He bristled only once when a reporter wanted to know the distance from the Black Sea to Cuba: "I am not an information officer."

After Kozlov put in a plug for peaceful coexistence and confirmed that U-2 Pilot Francis Powers would be given a public trial, the three strolled to the drawing room to listen to a visiting celebrity, Pianist Van Cliburn. As Cliburn launched into Liszt's Twelfth Rhapsody, Mikoyan put a fatherly hand on the shoulder of U.S. Ambassador Llewellyn Thompson's daughter Sherry. When Cliburn swung into some lively Russian songs, Mikoyan joined in the chorus.

In Moscow, where parties are judged by the quantity and quality of Russian officials who attend, the U.S. party was a smashing success. Some attributed it to the popularity of Ambassador Thompson, others felt it was another sign that coexistence is still Soviet policy in spite of Khrushchev's blustering. Said one Western observer: "It was as if the U-2 incident and the summit collapse had never happened. The descent from the summit seems to have halted at the halfway mark."

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