N.S. Khrushchov, Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers
Moscow, USSR
July 11 1959
“Your Imperial Majesty,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Comrades,
We have assembled here at a reception in honor of our Royal visitor, the Emperor of Ethiopia.
(…)
In your tour of our country you were certain to have noticed how deep – seated and sincere is that friendship and good will of the Soviet people for the people of Ethiopia. The friendship between our countries is known to have deep historical roots. But it is not just a matter of tradition. Soviet men and women respect the gallant people of Ethiopia, who for many decades were actually the only nation of Africa which had succeded in upholding the national freedom, and independence of its country in the fight against the colonialists.
They warmly sympathise with Ethiopia’s desire to make more extensive use of her natural wealth to develop her national economy. They think highly of Ethiopia’s foreign policy of peace based on the principles of Bandung.
Soviet men and women have a high personal esteem of Your Imperial Majesty as a man who, on ascending to the throne, did away with slavery in his country and carried out other reforms to develop the Ethiopian state.
The struggle of the Ethiopian people under your leadership against the Italian fascist aggressors aroused the admiration of our people, who had a high regard for the heroism of the sons of your country. They fought gallantly against the invader and upheld the national independence of their country. This is appreciated by the Soviet people especially highly because they too suffered an incursion by fascist hordes – German and Italian – and routed them in heroic struggle. The liberation struggle of our people against the fascist invader played a big part in bringing our countries closer together.
Soviet men and women are happy to welcome their Royal guests, who represent the independent countries of Africa, whose peoples are waging a struggle to root out completely the shameful colonial system…”
