UN General Assembly
1959

142. After the adjournment of the Geneva Conference, Mr. Eisenhower took the initiative in having a personal meeting with the most prominent representative of the Eastern bloc, Mr. Khrushchev. This, as we all know, resulted in Mr. Khrushchev’s visit to the United States, which has attracted so much attention. 143. I am sure that there is in this Assembly a widespread feeling of gratitude to Mr. Eisenhower for his initiative in trying to establish, in the deadlock that had arisen, personal contact with Mr. Khrushchev, thus making possible political discussions on the highest level. It is still too early to form an opinion of the results of these discussions but the mere invitation to the chief of the Soviet Government is considered to have brought about a certain improvement in the political atmosphere. Thus, in his speech before this Assembly, Mr. Khrushchev said: "The ice ill Soviet-American relations has undoubtedly begun to break up and we are sincerely glad of this." [799th meeting, para. 25.]