Report Outline
Review of U.s policy toward yugoslavia
Communist Bloc Relations with Tito
Tito's Ambition to Lead Neutral Bloc
Review of U.s policy toward yugoslavia
Growing Doubts About the Neautralism of Tito
American willingness to proceed with negotiation of the sale to Yugoslavia of half a million tons of surplus wheat—an amount which would double the wheat sales to that country this year—was made known to the Belgrade government on Thanksgiving Day. There had been some doubt during the past three months whether Yugoslavia would get the additional wheat. Belgrade complained that action on its application was being unduly delayed.
Reports of a possible change in United States policy toward the independent Communist state followed President Kennedy's statement, when signing the foreign aid authorization bill on Sept. 4, that it was his belief “that in the administration of these funds we should give great attention and consideration to those nations who have our view of the world crisis.” This statement was widely interpreted as censure of Yugoslav President Tito's mild acceptance, the day before, of the Soviet Union's decision to resume nuclear testing. Addressing the representatives of two dozen non-aligned nations then in conference at Belgrade, Tito had said: “We were not surprised so much by …the resumption of atomic and hydrogen weapons tests, because we could understand the reasons. …We were surprised more by the fact that this was done on the opening of this conference of peace.”
When the Belgrade conference itself failed to make any strong protest on Moscow's breaking of the nuclear test moratorium, there was speculation that a revision of American aid policy toward neutralist nations in general might be in the making. A review of U.S. relations with those countries is now reported to be under way. Pending its completion, however, Washington has decided to go ahead with another wheat transaction with Yugoslavia. |
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