STEVENSON GRILLS ZORIN AT UN
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On the tenth day of the Cuban Missile Crisis, fifty-five years ago, October 25, 1962, Soviet ambassador to the United Nations Valerian Zorin refused to answer United States UN ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson's question....
Zorin was waiting to hear the translation of Stevenson's question from English to Russian in his earpiece when Stevenson added...
"Yes or no---don't wait for the translation--yes or no?"
"I am not in an American courtroom, sir, and I do not wish to answer a question put to me in the manner in which a prosecutor does."
Stevenson countered...
"You are in the courtroom of world opinion right now, and you can answer yes or no. You have denied that they exist, and I want to know if I have understood you correctly."
Zorin replied...
"Continue with your statement. You will receive your answer in due course. Do not worry."
Ambassador Stevenson, obviously frustrated by Zorin's lack of candor, said...
"I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over, if that's your decision."
The United States then presented the photographic evidence to prove to the world the Soviet Union had indeed installed nuclear weapons in Cuba.
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On the tenth day of the Cuban Missile Crisis, fifty-five years ago, October 25, 1962, Soviet ambassador to the United Nations Valerian Zorin refused to answer United States UN ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson's question....
"Do you...deny that the USSR has placed and is placing, medium and intermediate range missiles and sites in Cuba?"
Zorin was waiting to hear the translation of Stevenson's question from English to Russian in his earpiece when Stevenson added...
"Yes or no---don't wait for the translation--yes or no?"
Zorin, taken aback by Stevenson's tactic, replied in Russian...
"I am not in an American courtroom, sir, and I do not wish to answer a question put to me in the manner in which a prosecutor does."
Stevenson countered...
"You are in the courtroom of world opinion right now, and you can answer yes or no. You have denied that they exist, and I want to know if I have understood you correctly."
Zorin replied...
"Continue with your statement. You will receive your answer in due course. Do not worry."
Ambassador Stevenson, obviously frustrated by Zorin's lack of candor, said...
"I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over, if that's your decision."
The United States then presented the photographic evidence to prove to the world the Soviet Union had indeed installed nuclear weapons in Cuba.
President John F. Kennedy, concerned about Stevenson's ability to stand-up to Zorin, was watching on television as he sat in his rocking chair in the Oval Office.
When it was over, JFK turned to his aides and said...
"Terrific. I never knew Adlai had it in him."
*Valerian Zorin (1902-1986) joined the Communist party in 1922 and graduated from the Communist Institute of Education in 1935. He was ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1947-1955. VZ, who won 3 'Orders of Lenin', was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and UN ambassador from 1956-1965. He was ambassador to France from 1965-1971.
SOURCES
"'Let Us Begin Anew': An Oral History of the Kennedy Presidency, by Gerald S. and Deborah H. Strober, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1993.
"One Minute To Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro On The Brink of Nuclear War" by Michael Dobbs, Alfred Knopf, New York, 2008.
When it was over, JFK turned to his aides and said...
"Terrific. I never knew Adlai had it in him."
*Valerian Zorin (1902-1986) joined the Communist party in 1922 and graduated from the Communist Institute of Education in 1935. He was ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1947-1955. VZ, who won 3 'Orders of Lenin', was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and UN ambassador from 1956-1965. He was ambassador to France from 1965-1971.
SOURCES
"'Let Us Begin Anew': An Oral History of the Kennedy Presidency, by Gerald S. and Deborah H. Strober, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1993.
"One Minute To Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro On The Brink of Nuclear War" by Michael Dobbs, Alfred Knopf, New York, 2008.
UN Security Council
October 25, 1962
PD-USGOV photo
