CIA · President's Daily Brief · declassified 2015–2016
Romania in the President's Daily Brief: 1965
13 days in 1965 on which the CIA's brief for the US president names Romania: 14 paragraphs, scanned and transcribed, with the withheld passages marked.
named in passingpartly withheld
3. USSR
Soviet leaders are apparently going ahead with the long-talked-of 1 March meeting of 26 Communist parties, originally scheduled for last December as preparatory to a world Communist conference. Foreign delegates are now arriving in Moscow, but seats for Peiping's supporters as well as the Rumanians will probably stay empty. So far there are no signs that anything substantial will emerge.
It will serve, however, as another platform for condemnation of US policy in Vietnam.
Peiping has consistently blasted this conclave and may now be calling its own meeting of Communist factions supporting the Chinese line.
The gradual loosening of the Soviet Union's iron grasp on Eastern Europe is encouraging a revival of long-dormant territorial and minority problems. So far, Rumania and Hungary have taken the lead in reviving nationalistic interest in lost lands. They are not likely to remain alone since every nation in the bloc has old claims on one or more regions of one or more of its neighbors. A discussion of some of the ramifications of the situation is at Annex.
Hungary and Rumania have been at daggers drawn for some months now over the Transylvania problem. (See map.) Northern Transylvania, with its large Magyar population, has been a part of Rumania since 1918. Now the Hungarians are complaining over the oppression of the Magyar minority. One Hungarian official has gone so far as to term the treatment being accorded the Magyars, "genocide." Anti-Rumanian incidents in the area have been increasingly numerous. Hungarian flags have been raised. A pamphlet predicting the return of the area to Hungary has appeared. There has even been scattered violence. Bucharest, not surprisingly, suspects that Budapest is behind all this. The Rumanians also suspect that the Soviets have lent quiet encouragement to the agitation.
Not to be outdone, the Rumanians have raised old claims on Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, now part of the USSR. This has been in a low key so far. For example, the Rumanian leaders have sent historians searching through old texts, where they have uncovered passages in which Marx strongly criticized Russia's seizure of Bessarabia. There are signs that the Rumanians, who have taken up the matter officially with the Soviets, may be prepared to carry their campaign a good deal further.
Other states in the area may not be long in joining the outcry. Thus, Czecholsovakia has been making noises about the return of Ruthenia, now part of the USSR. Wary officials in Budapest have referred to the possible return of Kosice, now in Czechoslovakia.
There is, however, a general recognition that everyone is vulnerable in this game, and this may help keep the lid on. So far irredentist claims have been seized upon essentially as tactical weapons rather than serious goals to be pursued at whatever cost. However, popular feelings on these matters are strong, as for example in Germany over the loss of German land to the Poles. If the forces of nationalism continue to grow, ambitious figures and strong factions may resort increasingly to the espousal of traditional territorial and ethnic claims as a means of broadening their appeal.
Nicolae Ceausescu has been elected as the new party first secretary to succeed Gheorghiu-Dej. Ceausescu will probably follow the independent line of his predecessor in foreign affairs and may introduce some relaxation of hard-line policies at home. The rapidity of his selection suggests the top party leadership remains strongly unified.
an unsuccessful coup against the Zhivkov regime was staged some time between 6 and 12 April. According to the Rumanian military attaché in Sofia, the commandant of the Sofia garrison is missing, and a high-level party official has committed suicide.
The Bulgarian party is faction ridden, and there is strong opposition to Zhivkov's slavishly pro-Moscow policies, but there is no solid evidence to support these rather tenuous reports of an attempted coup.
The Rumanians have apparently concluded that little progress is possible just now in bilateral relations with the US.
The collapse of the protracted negotiations with Firestone for a much-wanted synthetic rubber plant has added to Rumanian frustrations over delays in other commercial deals with US firms;
Soviet Marshal Grechko, commander of the Warsaw Pact forces, has again turned up in Bucharest, very likely to deal with difficulties between the Rumanians and the pact organization. There have been a number of reports of Rumanian dissatisfaction with the pact. The nature of the disagreement is not known for sure, but probably grew out of Rumania's assertion of a greater measure of independence.
The Rumanians are exploring ways to end their membership in the Warsaw Pact.
The Rumanian ambassador in Paris has formally asked the French Foreign Office for precise information on how France proposes to "disassociate" itself from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization while maintaining its Western alliance. Bucharest, he says, wants to "get rid of the Warsaw Pact" while keeping its alliance with the Soviets.
Rumania has been unhappy with the Pact for some time, but this is the first time they have indicated an interest in terminating this tie.
Rumania has told the USSR that its armed forces are no longer considered directly subordinate to the Warsaw Pact command .
Marshal Grechko, Soviet Commander of the Warsaw Pact, visited Bucharest in mid-June to complain of Rumania's insubordination. Rumanian officials replied that decisions of the pact must be approved first by the Bucharest government before Rumanian armed forces can comply.
The Rumanians also rebuffed Grechko's efforts to have them order more equipment from Moscow. He was told the Rumanian armed forces were adequately equipped and that local industry would take care of future needs as much as possible.
A large Warsaw Pact air defense exercise got under way yesterday when about 150 medium bombers flew simulated air attacks over most of the European satellites.
Large numbers of Soviet and East European fighters reacted to the raid. Surface-to-air missile sites were also involved.
It promises to be the largest in a series of exercises designed to improve readiness in Pact air defense forces.
So far the Rumanians have been conspicuous in their failure to take part.
The French Foreign Ministry says that Polish Premier Cyrankiewiez will be given a "fine reception" by De Gaulle when he visits Paris next week. The show will exceed that given the Rumanian prime minister last year, since De Gaulle considers Poland more important.
The Soviet leaders are in the midst of a new series of talks in Moscow with their East European counterparts. Top Rumanian and Czech delegations have recently returned home, and the East Germans are expected in town later in the week. In addition, Brezhnev made a quick trip to Poland over the weekend for a meeting with Gomulka.
It is not clear what has prompted this round of activity. The timing of the consultations suggests that at least in part they have some connection with the Soviet Central Committee meeting at the end of the month.
President Tito, 73-years-old, is rumored to be seriously ill.
Indian President Radhakrishnan, who talked to Tito two weeks ago, was his last reported visitor. A trip to Rumania, scheduled for late this month, has been cancelled, as has been a planned visit to Yugoslavia by Polish leader Gomulka.
Day-to-day affairs can be carried on by Vice President Rankovic and the two top Communist Party secretaries. No other Yugoslav leader, however, has Tito's ability to curb the fractiousness of the country's minorities.
