Item COLD WAR 28/78 - Transcript of interview with General Vadim Kirpichenko, 1997

Typescript transcript of interview with Soviet Gen Vadim Alekseyevich Kirpichenko, former KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopastny, the Soviet Committee for State Security) Officer, and Deputy Chief, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, [1996], relating to the strategic importance of the Middle East to the USSR, [1953-1973]; Soviet relations with Gamal Abd al-Nasser, President of Egypt, 1954-1970; Soviet economic and military aid to Egypt, 1954-1973; the Soviet supply of arms to Egypt prior to the Six Day War, Jun 1967; speculation on whether Soviet influence could have prevented Egyptian involvement in the Six Day War, Jun 1967; the Soviet reaction to the Israeli victory in the Six Day War, 1967; the visit of Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny, Soviet Head of State, to Egypt and his opinion of Nasser, [1967]; the death of Nasser and his funeral, Cairo, Egypt, Sep 1970; the impact of Nasser's death on Soviet Prime Minister Alexei Nikolayevich Kosygin, Sep 1970; the attempts by Muhammad Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, to ally Egypt with the USA, Apr 1971-1972; Kosygin's desire for the USSR and the USA to persuade Egypt and Israel to end the small scale clashes, border incidents and raids on each other's territory, 1969; the operational use of Soviet pilots in Egyptian Air Force units, 1969; the deployment of Soviet air defence units to Egypt, [1970-1971]; the expulsion, by Muhammad Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, of all Soviet military advisers from Egypt, 1972; the supply of Soviet military equipment to Egypt, 1972-1973; Soviet concerns at Egyptian preparations for the Yom Kippur War, 1973; the Soviet reaction to the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, 6 Oct 1973; the Soviet attempts to stop the Yom Kippur War, Oct 1973; the Soviet reaction to US arms deliveries to Israel, Oct 1973; the placement of the US armed forces on DefCon 3 (Defense Condition, Level 3), a heightened status of readiness for a possible nuclear conflict, during the Middle East crisis, 1973; speculation on the creation of a joint US-Soviet peacekeeping force for the Middle East, 1973; the atmosphere and conditions in Cairo, Egypt, during the Yom Kippur War, Oct 1973; Soviet arms supplies to Egypt, Oct 1973; the Arab-Israeli peace process following the Yom Kippur War, Oct 1973; the withdrawal of Soviet influence in Egypt, 1972-1973. 40pp