Jugoslavija i Sad – Od Sporenja Ka Saradnji Relations During 1963
Yugoslav-American Relations During: From Disputes To Cooperation 1963

Summary/Abstract: Incompatibility of international relations and goals of Yugoslavia and USA during the 1960s was complicating the efforts of both states to maintain economical and political cooperation. Yugoslav sporadic equation of socialist peaceful coexistence with nonalignment was not approved in the West. Alongside with the Yugoslav- Soviet closure, Tito and his followers were losing interest for cooperation with the USA. This caused distrust in Washington, as after the Cuban crisis public opinion grew ever less flexible any more in regards to the American support to socialist countries. However, economical dependency of Yugoslavia from United States and inability of Yugoslav authorities to consolidate economy without the financial support of the West, caused revision of foreign political direction of Yugoslavia. Reluctantly, but persistently, Belgrade embarked on the diplomatic offensive directed to improvement of relationship with United States and leading Western countries. Frequent contacts with American officials were initiated; anti-Western rhetoric was suppressed, as well as the criticism of the United States in Yugoslav press. This pragmatic aspect of Yugoslav policies and suppression of ideological animosities of both sides peaked in the middle of 1963. Its summit was reached in the Tito-Kennedy meeting in Washington. During this meeting, which occurred slightly before the Kennedy assassination, new basis for Yugoslav-American relations were created. They were setting the tone of cooperation between the two states in the period after the tragic death of the youngest American president, followed by the upcoming administrations.

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