From Soviet Union's Aggressions Against the World, Gen. Oleg Sarin & Col. Lev Dvoretsky, 1996

As to the Cuban problem, Gromyko told the young president that the Soviet Union would never play the role of idle observer while the United States was engaged in increasing the anti-Cuba campaign and performing hostile acts against the �peace-loving� Cubans. The Soviets would support the Cubans and respect Cuba�s sovereignty. Kennedy did not argue with Gromyko on these points, instead reading him his previous statement of warning About deploying missiles in Cuba. There was no mention of surface-to-surface missiles at their meeting. When asked later about this, Gromyko said that �the president never asked me about them.� At the same time, he estimated that the talks with the president were very important in that they outlined, as he put it, �the landmarks for future agreement.� We doubt the authenticity of Gromyko�s statement in that it lacks documentary record of the occasion. We think that the meeting was totally fruitless, because nothing tangible came of it.

On October 20, 1962, the Kennedy administration decided to impose the sea blockade. . . .

( pages 154-5 )

Alien wars : the Soviet Union's aggressions
against the world, 1919 to 1989 / Oleg Sarin, Lev Dvoretsky
Novato, CA : Presidio, 1996.