Mikoyan Flight to U.S.
Moscow TASS International Service in English 1646 GMT 24 November 1963--L
(Text) Moscow--Anastas Mikoyan, the first deputy chairman
of the USSR Council of Ministers, boarded an IL-18 airliner here today to fly to
the United States to attend the funeral of U.S. President John Kennedy.
At the airport, Anastas Mikoyan was seen off by Gennadiy
Voronov, Dmitriy Polyadskiy, and other officials. U.S. Ambassador Foy D. Kohler
was also present.
Before his departure, Anastas Mikoyan made the following
statement: "We are going to Washington to pay last tribute to U.S. President
John Fitzgerald Kennedy whose life ended so tragically as a result of a
dastardly crime. The Soviet Government and its head Nikita Khrushchev personally
asked me to convey to the family of the late President, the leaders of the U.S.
Government, all American people their sincere condolences over this grievous
bereavement."
(Editor's Note: Besides the figures mentioned as seeing Mikoyan off on his flight to the United States, Moscow Domestic at 1900 GMT adds the following: First Deputy Chairman Ustinov and Foreign Minister Gromyko.)