Oct. 24, 1962 - Premier Khrushchev suggested today a summit meeting to avert the danger of thermonuclear war with the U.S. over the Cuban question. He urged the U.S. not to carry out its naval quarantine of Cuba and promised that the Soviet Union “will not take any reckless decisions.” Mr. Khrushchev made his declaration in a letter to Bertrand Russell, the British philosopher and pacifist leader. Lord Russell had written to the Soviet Premier, President Kennedy, and other statesmen expressing concern over the Cuban crisis. While the Khrushchev letter was viewed in Washington as a serious bid for a meeting with President Kennedy, it was also noted that it had strong propaganda overtones. The Premier accused the Kennedy Administration of imposing the quarantine because of hatred for the Cuban people and out of “pre-election considerations.”
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