Anatoly Dobrynin served as Soviet Ambassador to the United States from 1962 to 1986, playing a key role in Soviet-U.S. relations during the Cold War. Dobrynin was not told by the Kremlin about the decision to deploy missiles to Cuba, and on September 4, 1962 he had misinformed Robert Kennedy that only defensive Soviet weaponry had been sent to Cuba. During the crisis Dobrynin held secret meetings with Robert Kennedy. These private discussions were an important backchannel for communication between Khrushchev and President Kennedy to help work out a solution to the crisis. In a crucial exchange on October 27 Robert Kennedy made clear to Dobrynin the threat of an imminent U.S. attack, while at the same time privately conveying to him the President’s assurance that the Jupiter missiles from Turkey would be withdrawn in four or five months.
Credit: Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston. Digital Identifier: JFKWHP-AR7363-A.