WASHINGTON -- The Washington-to-Moscow hot line has gone into operation as a safeguard against nuclear war by accident, the Defense Department said Friday.
The hook-up of the long projected project came in an 11-word announcement from the Defense Department.
"The direct communications link between Washington and Moscow is now operational" it said.
The new tieline between the two nations will allow President Kennedy and Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev to exchange messages in a matter of minutes.
The Cuban crisis dramatically pointed up the need for the hot line. At the height of the crisis, Kennedy and Khrushchev were forced at times to resort to open broadcasts to avoid delay.
The hot line consists of a wire and cable hook-up running through Longon, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, and Moscow.
In operation 24 hours a day, the cost to the United States "is expected to be $10,000 monthly for leased circuits and about $15,000 for four sending and receiving machines. Russia will pay about the same.
