Oct. 25, 1962 - Adlai Stevenson Confronts Soviet Ambassador at U.N. During Cuban Missile Crisis

Oct. 25, 1962 - Adlai Stevenson dramatically challenged Valerian A. Zorin in the U.N. Security Council today to deny the U.S. charge that the Russians had installed offensive-missile bases in Cuba. Mr. Stevenson asked Mr. Zorin: “Do you deny that the U.S.S.R has placed and is placing medium and intermediate-range missiles and sites in Cuba? Yes or no?” Mr. Zorin, who was listening to a simultaneous translation of Mr. Stevenson’s question, replied immediately in Russian: “I am not in an American courtroom, sir, and therefore I do not wish to answer a question that is put to me in the fashion in which a prosecutor puts questions. In due course, sir, you will have your reply.” Pressing for a direct answer, Mr. Stevenson informed Mr. Zorin that he was “in the courtroom of world opinion right now.” When Mr. Zorin still refused to answer, Mr. Stevenson asserted: “I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over, if that’s your decision. And I am also prepared to present the evidence in this room.” Mr. Stevenson then explained the United States’ photographic evidence as two aides placed a series of mounted displays on an easel in the rear of the chamber. Mr. Stevenson told the Council that the launching pads, planes, and weapons shown in the photographs were part of a much larger complex of advanced weapons placed in Cuba by the Soviet Union.

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