who led the ussr during the cuban missile crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis The enormity of how close the world came to thermonuclear war impelled Krushchev to propose a far-reaching easing of tensions with the US.[118] In a letter to President Kennedy dated 30 October 1962, Krushchev outlined a range of bold initiatives to forestall the possibility of a further nuclear crisis, including proposing a non-aggression treaty between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Warsaw Pact or even the disbanding these military blocs, a treaty to cease all nuclear weapons testing and even the elimination of all nuclear weapons, resolution of the hot-button issue of Germany by both East and West formally accepting the existence of West Germany and East Germany, and US recognition of the government of mainland China. The letter invited counter-proposals and further exploration of these and other issues through peaceful negotiations. Krushschev invited Norman Cousins, the editor of a major US periodical and an anti-nuclear weapons activist, to serve as liaison with President Kennedy, and Cousins met with Krushchev for four hours in December 1962.[119]