In December 1962 which Soviet leader declared that China was responsible for the Sino-Indian War of 1962?

During the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the Soviet Union initially maintained a neutral or slightly pro-China stance due to the concurrent Cuban Missile Crisis. However, once the missile crisis was resolved, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (often transliterated as Khrushrnev in some texts) shifted his position. In December 1962, Khrushchev addressed the Supreme Soviet and explicitly criticized China's actions, declaring that China was responsible for the conflict and questioning the necessity of the war against a non-aligned friend like India. This shift was a significant milestone in the Sino-Soviet split, as Beijing had already accused the USSR of failing to take a 'class' position in the dispute. Khrushchev's public blaming of China solidified the growing rift between the two communist giants while paving the way for closer Indo-Soviet strategic cooperation in the following decades.

Sources

1. [1] Politics in India since Independence, Textbook in political science for Class XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 4: Indi External Relations > The Chinese invasion, 1962 > p. 62