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The visit ended in a burst of belated camaraderie at a party given by the Russians. Watching some ballerinas flown in specially from Moscow, Marshal Tito remarked to Bulganin: "A dancer is perhaps better looking than a negotiator." Said Bulganin amiably: "Well, Khrushchev never had legs like these." Later, the notables retired to a private dining room. After 3½ hours and a flood of wine, slivovitz. champagne and vodka, the doors opened. Tito and his handsome wife emerged. Then, as Tito stood chatting with newsmen, there was an interruption. Reported TIME'S James Bell:
"The door flew open and there stood Nikita Khrushchev. His face was fiery red and his jaw was slack. He was, to put it mildly, slobbering drunk. He stumbled over the doorsill and blinked happily at the assembled crowd. He waved at everyone and teetered uncertainly. Embarrassed but game. Tito gestured toward the newsmen on the stairs and said: 'These are journalists.' This delighted Nikita, who whooped: 'Oh. they are very dangerous men!'
"The most powerful man in Russia staggered over to the head of the staircase and came to rest against my chest. Suddenly he saw a hand sticking out in front of him and he grabbed it. 'Who are you?' he asked the owner, the New York Herald Tribune's Frank Kelley. Kelley said he was an American. 'Oh, you Americans do not know Russia,' Khrushchev burbled. I tried to withdraw but he had me pinned. Nikita clung to Kelley's hand like some cherished thing. Kelley said it wasn't our fault if we didn't know Russia, we could not get visas. Khrushchev said we sure could. 'You can come tomorrow,' he said magnanimously, waving at half a dozen reporters around him.
"Mikoyan grabbed him by the elbow and said, 'Come on. Let's go home. We have to get up early.' Khrushchev shook him off. Tito stood near by. an amused smile on his face as he waited for Stalin's successor to cope with the Western world. 'You can all come tomorrow!' Nikita repeated. A German reporter said. Tm German. Can I come too?' 'Oh. sure.' said Khrushchev. 'We are not afraid of the devil and you are not devils.'
"Mikoyan tried again, but Khrushchev decided he wanted to make a speech. 'Our agreement with Yugoslavia.' he shouted, 'contributes to peace and lessens international tensions.' 'What did he say?' someone asked Tito. Tito shook his head and said dryly: 'He said peace.' 'Yes, yes.' repeated Khrushchev happily, 'peace, peace.'
"At this point, Tito took a firm hand. He grabbed the tottering little man by the arm and said: 'Come on, Khrushchev. These journalists will take you prisoner.' He started him downstairs. 'Peace, peace,' said Khrushchev with upstretched hand, and staggered down the stairs.
"There he started kissing every woman in sight. Two solidly built goons, obviously with experience in this sort of thing, surrounded Nikita. Each grabbed an elbow, literally lifted him off his feet and carried him to his car."
So ended the great Belgrade conference.