279. Telegram From the Mission to the United Nations to the Department of State 1
2032. Deptels 1045, 1143;2 USUN’s 1295,3 1449,4 1665,5 1771.6 Meeting With Sov Del on UN Financial Problems.
Expected technical meeting on USSR ability to pay and why it believes it over assessed on UN regular scale of contributions held Nov. 12: Solodovnikov (USSR) and Ziehl (USDel). Little new learned, but USSR arguments included:
- 1.
- USSR dollar contributions to UN and specialized agencies $25 million per year which too large an amount for USSR to pay. SovDel believes Supreme Soviet may refuse pay increased percentage if voted, because too difficult secure foreign exchange. When queried about magnitude total foreign trade and fact USSR refuses publish balance of payments information, Solodovnikov replied he realized this puts USSR in difficult position and he feels his government wrong in not making these data available to show real USSR problem. In response to line of argument “You can’t have your cake and eat it,” Solodovnikov again repeated this is real problem for USSR and his govt’s position on not publishing balance of payments figures makes SovDel’s position difficult.
- 2.
- Principal argument, that UN scale is based national income figures while accumulated wealth is the significant real factor was that little new wealth accumulated USSR during World War II, and war destroyed much existing wealth. Rates of growth on national income not appropriate measure until real wealth restored. In other words, much Soviet economic growth and capital accumulation still required to re-establish USSR wealth. When asked whether Western European countries did not have similar problems and the relationship their scale rates to scale rates of Soviets, Solodovnikov replied situation is not analogous, but would not elaborate. (It appeared to DelOff that Solodovnikov’s heart not in this argument.)
- 3.
- Veterans benefits and excess women in labor force lumped together by Solodovnikov, who alleged USSR veteran benefits very high, but stated he did not know magnitude, and that excess of women very high, but he not know numbers. Factual basis had been laid by DelOff that in 1959 disparity between able bodied males and females in USSR was just over 4 million. It hard to reconcile these figures with 20 million excess women figures and relate this figure (often used by USSR) to significant economic arguments bearing on the scale of assessments. Solodovnikov, while insisting this a significant item, supplied no answer except to say that the figures DelOff quoted must deal with USSR as a whole, whereas there were serious imbalances in parts of the Soviet Union. These imbalances had required large expenditures, for example, to create factories for the sole employment of males in areas where 95 percent of the remaining population were women. The arguments advanced were never tied up with their effect on the USSR ability to pay or the fairness of its scale of assessments.
In closing discussion, Solodovnikov stressed personal belief that USSR and US must find ways to cooperate more fully in the UN. He stated he realized many nations, including the Africans, beginning resent this display of cooperation, but it important to world peace. His final (emotional) comment was that all the Russians who had met US military during the wars liked them, and there was a great reserve of friendship for the US.
Solodovnikov also stated he had been on two weeks emergency leave to see his sick wife last summer; hoped to go home for a month and half this summer and “maybe stay there.” He stated no one knew about this desire, but that he hoped “to get back to the institute” where he could make a further contribution to economics and international relations. Also stated he planned go to Washington after this GA and hoped see Bowman, US national on Contributions Committee.
- Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1960–63, UN 10–4. Confidential.↩
- Neither printed. (Both ibid.)↩
- Not printed. (Ibid., POL 7 UAR)↩
- Not printed. (Ibid., UN 10–4)↩
- See footnote 2, Document 278.↩
- Not printed. (National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1960–63, REF 5 UNRWA)↩