NIKOLAE ČAUŠESKU NA VIII KONGRESU SKJ: JUGOSLOVENSKE IMPRESIJE
Nikolae Ceauşescu at VIII Congress of the Communist League of Yugoslavia: Yugoslav Impressions

Summary/Abstract: The attendance of Romanian Labour Party delegation to VIII Congress of the Communist League of Yugoslavia in December 1964, led by Nikolae Ceauşescu, Romanian „man number two”, occured in the time of highly strained relations between Romania and the Soviet Union. Such relations were the consequence of Romanian efforts to distance from strong political and economical influence of the Soviet Union. Therefore, Romanian delegation's attitudes on foreign politics problems and international labour movement problems attracted a great attention of its hosts. Ceauşescu and other delegation members made different impressions on their hosts. Delegation's reserved attitude and avoiding of talks on internal Yugoslav problems had been pretty obvious, which was interpreted in Belgrade as Romanian intention to evade discussion on similar Romanian problems. However, the strongest impression of Yugoslavs was the change of Romanian attitude towards the Soviet Union and its Communist Party, announced in public in the spring of 1964, as well as razor-sharp Ceauşescu's tone during his talk about the Soviet Union, Hruscov and his politics. Yugoslav side noticed „bitter resentment” at the Soviet Union and the Communist Party, which Ceauşescu did not even try to hide. It was evident not only from the context of his words but also from the tone of his voice and the way he talked about it. On the other hand, Ceauşescu demonstrated deep understanding for the attitudes of the Communist Party of China, which persuaded his interlocutors that Romania appreciated very much the opinion of the Communist Party of China. New trend of Romania's distancing from the Soviet Union, its understanding for China and its problems, an effort to keep good relations with Albania and its raising interest for the „Third World”, were the signs of Romanian foreign-relation turn. On the basis of all this, Belgrade officials could only draw a conclusion that there had been a severe and constant change in Romanian foreign policy, and that in future Romania would try to acquire higher emancipation level from the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, as high as possible.

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