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Department of State 
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0 P 2.!2040Z AUG 68 FM AMEMBASSY ROME TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7933 INFO · USMISSION NATO PRIORITY AMEMBASSY LONDON AMEMBASSY PARIS AMEMBASSY BONN 
e' e. f4 ,. I " ! l<J T I A L R 0 ME 7 8 2 8 
CZECHOSOVAKIA 

lo FOLLOWING CONVEYED TO EMBASSY BX MEMBER PRIME MINISTER'S 
STAFFo 

2o SOVIET AMBASSADOR RYZHOV WAS RECEIVED BY PRIME MINISTER 
LEONE AT ~ ·~MERUS REQUEST AT 2000 HOURS LOCAL AUGUST 21• 
NEITHER I N 1HIS MEETING NOR IN EARLY MORNING 1 ONE WITH MINlSTE~ 
WITHOUT PROTFOLIO MAZZA DID HE LEAVE WRITTEN STATEMENT• 

3o IN MEETING WITH LEONE RYZHOV REFERRED TO EARLIER MEETING 
AND TO PO I NTS MADE TO MAZZA (ROME , 7801 ) • SAID THERE NO NEED 
T0 1 REPEAT THEM• HE SAID USSR ACT'I NG 1 TO PRESERVE : PEACE IN EUROPE 

AND PREVENT MAJOR CLASH THAT MIGHT HAVE RESULTED IF SITUATiON_ 
HAD CONTINUED~ HE REFERRED TO EXTERNAL THQEAT TO CZECHOSLOVAKIA 
AND SAID HE SURE THAT THINGS WOULD DEVELOP FOR THE BEST• 
R~SHOV INSISTED SOVIET TROOPS WOULD NOT HAVE · ENTERED CZECHos~ 

LOVAKIA  IF  IT  HAD  NOT  BEEN  FOR  "APPEAL  BY  LARGE  NUMBER  OF ~  
MEMBERS  OF  PARTY  CENTRAL  COMMI TTEE  AND  PARLIAMENT,  IN  FACT,  
A MAJORITY  OF  THEM"•  

0 
-RYZHOV POINTED OUT THAT ITALIAN~SOVIET RELATIONS WERE GOOD IN ALL 1 FIELDS, ESPEC 'lALLy ECONOMICo (HE SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED 
DECLASSIFIED ee~IF I BENT I"~ E.O. 13292, Sec. 3.4 ,. $tate Dept. Guidelines 
Byj/~NARA, Date~li·'& 
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Department of State TELEGRAM 

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PAGE 02 ROME 07828 212128Z 
OL1VETTI INT ERES TS AND ITALIAN TRADE FAIR SCHEDULED TO OPEN 
IN MOSCOW IN NEAR FUTURE o) SAID HE HOPED IT AL I AN ' GOVERNHENl"' S 
ATTITUDE TOWARD DEVELOPMENTS OR ITS ACTIVITIES IN PRESS~ 
RA D I 0 0 R TV F I EL D S W0UL D N 0 T CAUSE THESE REL A TI 0 NS T 0 DETER I 0 RATE'• 

5 o IN REPLY LEONE SAID HE WANTED EXPRESS I ND I GNAT I ON OF · COUNTRY 
AT SOVIET MILITARY OCCUPATION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA• DESCRIBED 
THIS AS ACT OF EXTREME GRAVITY BECAUSE IT WAS VIOL~TION OF 
UN CHARTER AND RULES OF INTERNAT]ONAL LAW• HE ADDED' THAT tr-
ALSO AN ATTACK ON PREE DETERMINATION OF PEOPLES AND RUPTURE 
IN PROCESS OF DETENTEP TO WHICH ITALY HAD 1 MADE CONTRIBUTION• 
LEONE ALSO CITED PCI STATEMENT (ROME 7822) AS EVIDENCE OF 
I ND I GNAT I ON OF COUNTRY• ( G'I ST OF ' THESE REMARKS WITHOUT REF• 

ERENCE TO PCI WILL BE PUT OUT AS GOVERNMENT STATEMENT LATER 
THIS EVENINGel 

6• TURNING TO PRESS AND MEDIA TREATMENT OF CZECH DEVELOPMENTS, 
LEONE RETORTED THAT IN ITALY THESE ' WERE FREE INSTITUTIONS• 
RAI•TV WAS UNDER SUPERVISION OF ' PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION, 
AND HE WOULD ASK THIS COMISSION TD INSURE OBJEC~IVITY OF 
REPORTINGo ADDED THAT HE HOPED , SOVIETS WOULD NOT TAKE UMBRAGE 
AT . OBJECTIVITY. 

7o LEONE ALSO MADE SAME TWO POINTS • AS SECRETARY ' HAD MADE TO 
DOBR~N I N1 I• Eo 1 REFERENCE~ TO ' ALLEGED CZECH : GOVERNMENT REQUEST 
F'OR INTERVENTION AND ' REFERENCE TO EXTERNAL · THREAT• (SUBSTANCE 
STATE 224690 WAS MADE AVAILABLE TO · HIM JUST BEFORE MEETING•) 
RYZHOV DID NOT SPECIFICALLY CHALLENGE LEGITIMACY OF CZECH . 
GOVERNMENT NOR REPEAT HIS MORNING1STATEMENT. THAT SOVIETS 
ACTING IN RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT~L' REQUEST• REFERENCE THIS TIME 
WOAS TO APPEAL OF MAJORITY OF CENTRAL COMMITTEE AND PARL 1IAMENT• 

s~ IN CONCLUSION LEONE SAID THAT . IF SOVIETaITALlAN REL~TIONS 
DETERIORATED1 IT WOULD BE RESULT ' NOT OF ITALIAN ACTIONS ' BUT OF' 
SOVIET INTERVENTION IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA• 

MELOY 

CQ ~' ~ I Q Et4 T I AI: