Visits of official delegations from the Kingdom of Cambodia in the USSR as an element of the Norodom Sihanouk's foreign policy strategy (1953-1970)

The policy of neutrality pursued by a number of developing states in the middle and the second half of the 20th century took an important place in the system of foreign relations of that time. The foreign policy strategy of the Kingdom of Cambodia developed by Norodom Sihanouk played an important role in the South-East Asia region in the 1950s-1960s. Some important issues still need deeper research and clarification, including the problem of the N. Sihanouk's foreign policy “inconsistency”. This fact determines the relevance of this article. The foreign policy doctrine of Norodom Sihanouk and the “policy of neutrality” pursued by him was repeatedly evaluated as negative in the West. His critical statements about US policy in Southeast Asia and public demonstration of sympathy toward China and the Soviet Union were the causes of the negative assessment given by the West. However, an essential component of this policy was equidistant from the opposing military-political blocs. In this article, the author makes an attempt to examine the foreign policy views of N. Sihanouk. They were declared by him in several theoretical articles published by the Cabinet of the Head of the State in Phnom Penh and in the monthly French edition “Le Monde diplomatique”. International visits and negotiations on the political, military, economic and cultural interaction of Cambodian delegations with the USSR in 1953-1970 are analyzed in the article. The author of the paper introduces new historical materials in the Khmer, French and Russian languages for the first time.