© László BORHI
© Cold War History Research Center, Budapest

This chronology is based on the following publication: Borhi László: Az Egyesült Államok és a szovjet zóna, 1945-1990 [The United States and the Soviet Zone, 1945-1990], Budapest: História, 1994

1968

January 18. The Soviet Union and the US present the new, full text of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to the UN Disarmament Commission in Geneva. This version now includes the third article concerning international supervision.

April 12. American officials inform Czechoslovakia that the US will not return the 18.4 tons of Czechoslovak gold that the Germans took in World War II and which now is in US possession until Prague pays compensation for American property nationalized in 1948. According to US estimate the claims are worth 72 million dollars.

April 18.-19. The seven member Nuclear Planning Group of NATO announces that the present conditions do not justify the deployment of an ABM system in Europe. – Secretary of defense Clark Clifford expresses his “sincere anxiety” that the European allies do not cover the major part of the cost of American troops in Europe despite the fact that the US faces continuous balance of payment deficit.

June 12. The UN accepts the final text of the nuclear non-proliferation draft treaty. China and France refrain from accepting the resolution. – The US President calls on the Soviet Union to enter into negotiations on the control and reduction of offensive and defensive nuclear arms.

June 27. Gromyko announces that the USSR is ready to exchange views on the mutual control and reduction of strategic nuclear delivery vehicles.

July 1. The Soviet Union’s new disarmament plan: an international agreement banning nuclear arms; the cessation of the production of nuclear arms, the reduction of arsenals followed by the ban and destruction of nuclear arms under international control; the mutual control of nuclear delivery vehicles, later their reduction; the immediate ban on the flight of planes armed with atomic bombs beyond national boundaries and the halting of the patrol of submarines armed with nuclear missiles on waters where the other side is within striking distance; ban on underground nuclear tests with national supervision, working out means to inspect the fulfillment of the ban of chemical and biological weapons; the liquidation of foreign bases; nuclear free zones. – 62 nations sign the non-proliferation treaty, France and China do not sign.

July 15. The first direct air link is opened between the US and the Soviet Union.

August 20.-21. The members of the Warsaw Pact invade Czechoslovakia. Romania does not take part. – August 22. The UN Security Council condemns the invasion by a vote of 10:2 and calls for the withdrawal of troops. – According to the American representative in the UN, George Ball the intervention is directed at “imposing by force a repressive political system which is plainly obnoxious to the people and leadership of Czechoslovakia”. Ball does not accept the “feeble and futile self-justification” of the Soviet Union. In his view the decision underlines that the aggressors committed “an inexcusable international crime,” the Czechoslovak people have the right to control its own affairs without external intervention. The occupational troops must be pulled out immediately. The Security Council must call on the occupational countries to “refrain from further murders and tortures”. – August 20. Johnson convenes the NSC because of the invasion. After the meeting Secretary of State Rusk talks with Soviet ambassador Dobrinin.

August 26. British prime minister Wilson condemns the occupation of Czechoslovakia but adds that this cannot dissuade the Western world from realizing détente with the communist world. He rejects returning to “the frozen immobilism of the cold war”. Earlier he declared that the invasion “dealt a serious blow” to East-West relations.

August 30. President Johnson’s speech in San Antonio: there are rumors that the Soviet Union is preparing to repeat its military action in Czechoslovakia “elsewhere in the days ahead in Eastern Europe”. The President warned the “would-be aggressor” “not to misjudge American policy during this administration”.

August 31. According to the State Department the military balance between East and West is upset as a result of the Warsaw Pact’s intervention against Czechoslovakia.

August. From the election platform of the Democratic Party: the US must “continue to accept its world responsibilities – not turn inward and isolate ourselves from the cares and aspirations of mankind”. At the same time “it must resist the temptation to try to mold the world or any part of it our own image, to become the self-appointed policeman of the world.” “The reimposition of Soviet tyranny [in Czechoslovakia] raises the specter of the darkest days of the Stalin era” and increases the danger of war in Central Europe, “a war could become a nuclear holocaust.”

September 2. French foreign minister Debré meets Soviet ambassador Zorin and demands that the Soviet Union should withdraw from Czechoslovakia without delay. Later he declares: only détente could lead to the normalization of the European situation but Moscow must prove with deeds that it did not give up the policy of détente.® September 9, 1968.

September 3. According to the State Department’s spokesman Soviet ambassador Dobrinin reassured secretary of state Rusk that the rumors about a potential Soviet aggression against Romania lack all foundation.

September 6. Soviet deputy foreign minister Kuznetsov visits Prague. Agreement is made on the partial withdrawal of Warsaw Pact troops, the recall of Soviet secret police and intelligence personnel, on the guarantee of the personal security and protection of Czechoslovak citizens and the improvement of the conditions of consultation between Prague and Moscow.® October 3.-4, 1968.

September 9. De Gaulle declares that he condemns the Soviet intervention inCzechoslovakia but he will continue the policy of détente with the USSR nonetheless.

September 9.-10. The Bucharest visit of British secretary of foreign affairs Stewart. According to Pravda Stewart’s visit “is an impermissible interference in the internal affairs of Eastern Europe”. Stewart earlier canceled his visits to Hungary and Bulgaria.

September 26. The Brezhnev doctrine of limited sovereignty is promulgated in Moscow.

October 3.-4. Czechoslovak delegation in Moscow. An agreement is signed to wit that Moscow will keep existing treaties and agreements and Prague will not aspire for neutrality. The Fourteenth congress of August 22 is declared null and void. The communist party will strengthen its leading position in state and economic leadership and will restore its control of the Ministry of the Interior. Press censorship is reintroduced; nobody will be persecuted for cooperation with the occupational forces. The UN Security Council will be called upon to remove the Czechoslovak issue from the agenda; Soviet-Czechoslovak economic relations will be expanded; no new political parties can be formed; all socialist opposition clubs will be banned; Czechoslovak foreign policy will remain in the framework the Socialist alliance; talks between the two parties will not be published in the future; friendship between the two states will be strengthened.

October 16. Czechoslovak-Soviet agreement on the “provisional” stationing of Russian troops in Czechoslovakia.

October 17.-18. US undersecretary of state Katzenbach visits Belgrade. This aims at reaffirming US support facing growing Soviet pressure. According to the Yugoslavs Katzenbach’s visit is the result of a remark Johnson made earlier, according to which the President expressed his “very clear and continuing interest in Yugoslavia’s independence, sovereignty and economic development”.

November 15. Dean Rusk announces that if Austria or Yugoslavia is attacked by the USSR it “would clearly be related to the area of NATO security interests”. Rusk also warned that an attack on Romania would have far more serious repercussions than the attack on Czechoslovakia.

November 16. Three day conference of the NATO council of ministers. In its declaration it warns the Soviet Union to refrain from another direct or indirect intervention in Europe or the Mediterranean region. “The Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia has seriously set back hopes of settling the outstanding problems which still divide the European continent and Germany and of establishing peace and security in Europe and threatens certain of the results already achieved in the field of détente”.

November 26. The US and Romania sign a two year cultural exchange program.

December 6. US secretary of state Rusk recommends high level talks on nuclear arms reduction to Soviet ambassador in Washington Dobrinin.® January 20, 1969.

December 15. Ford Motor Co. in England announces that Hungary is buying 3000 automobiles for 3.6 million dollars.

1969

January 20. The Soviet government announces that it is ready to negotiate with the US on nuclear missiles. Moscow proposes the limitation, then reduction of strategic nuclear delivery vehicles. – Two days prior to the announcement secretary of defense Clifford announced in Congress that the USSR significantly increased the number of its ICBMs and came close to the US in this respect.

March 17. The Budapest meeting of the member states of the Warsaw Pact, where a declaration is made on convening an all-European conference on European security and peaceful cooperation.® October 16-21 1969; October 31 1969.

April 10.-11. President Richard Nixon’s speech in NATO: a new process of détente is possible with the Soviet Union, but it depends on the actions of Eastern European countries. “Living in the real world of today means unfreezing our old concepts of East versus West, while never losing sight of great ideological differences.” Nixon says that the West must be prepared to change the alliance’s fist “into a hand of friendship” toward the Soviet bloc nations.

April 11. According to NATO’s communiqué, “the Allies propose to… explore with the Soviet Union and the other countries of Eastern Europe which concrete issues best lend themselves to fruitful negotiation and early resolution.” The communiqué stresses that the precondition for détente is unlimited access to West Berlin, and the peaceful solution of the German question. “…Any improvement in international relations presupposes full respect for the principles of the independence and territorial integrity of states and noninterference in their domestic affairs….”

April 23. The Bank of London and South America announces that Hungary received a 15 million Eurodollar loan to aid expansion of the Hungarian Aluminum Corporation.

May 30. The FRG announces that it will not sever relations with the countries that maintain diplomatic relations with East Berlin. The so called Hallstein doctrine was first used in 1957 concerning Yugoslavia. (The doctrine was named after a West German politician. It meant that the FRG broke diplomatic relations with states that recognized the GDR).

July 9-21. Former US Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s unofficial visit in the USSR, where he was invited on a wild boar hunt. He meets deputy premier Kuznetsov, the editors of Pravda and Izvestia and is received by Prime Minister Kosigin. Kosigin’s message to Nixon: Moscow is ready to cooperate with Washington for the cause of peace. The main theme of the talks is the issue of disarmament. Following his visit to the USSR Humphrey travels to Belgrade. After his return to the US he discloses in the Senate that the Soviets are worried not so much about the US’s ABM system but its MIRV-ed ICBMs.

July 10. Gromyko’s speech in the Supreme Soviet on Soviet foreign policy. The friendly relations with the US would “correspond to the interest of both the Soviet and the American peoples.” He referred to Nixon’s statement according to which after “a period of confrontation the era of negotiations has arrived” and found that “when it comes to problems of safeguarding peace the Soviet Union and the United States can find a common language.” Gromyko states that the strategic arms race “is mankind’s most serious problem.” According to Gromyko, Moscow is ready for strategic arms reduction together with Washington and shows interest in a “well-prepared” summit proposed by Nixon. He stresses that the Warsaw Pact would never permit an encroachment on the “gains of socialism” and denounced as slander Western interpretations of the “Brezhnev doctrine of limited sovereignty.” He denies that “Socialist countries come out not for complete sovereignty of states but for limited sovereignty,” and adds that “Nothing can attach fuller content to the concept of sovereignty than the right of people to defend to the end of the chosen road…Nobody can deprive such people of the right to rely on the help of friends loyal to their internationalist duty and the treaty obligations.”

August 2.-3. Nixon’s visit in Romania. The visit is part of the President’s world tour in which he pays a visit to eight countries. The US and Romania agree about re-launching talks on a consular agreement and express hope that on a suitable occasion talks on a civil aviation agreement can be resumed. An agreement is made on opening an American library in Romania and on the establishment of a Romanian library in the US.

August 6.-12. The tenth congress of the Romanian Communist Party. Party first secretary Ceausescu explains that Romanian foreign policy rests on the principles of national independence, equal rights and mutual advantages. He rejects the principle of a “socialist commonwealth” declaring that this is not a bloc in which the countries surrender their national sovereignty and unite. He stresses that Romania wishes to develop its economic relations and pursues the policy of peaceful cooperation with all countries of the world, but the basic principle of Romanian foreign policy is friendship towards the Soviet Union.

August 7. The Soviet Union’s reaction to the Ceausescu speech: the US policy of bridge-building is the “ perfidious tactic of imperialism” which aims at driving a wedge between the socialist countries to support anti-socialist forces and counter-revolutionary conspiracies. According to Moscow the success or failure of a socialist state influences all the socialist states.

August 15. Hungary and the US announce a four point agreement aiming at the improvement of bilateral relations. According to the agreement, Hungary is setting up commercial representation in New York so as to expand US-Hungarian trade (in 1968 Hungary’s export to the US was 3,8 million dollars, its import was 1,2 million); the staff of their embassies will be raised; US social security will pay pension to 300 eligible Hungarian citizens; agreement is made on the payment of post war surplus property credit debt.

August 21. Secretary of defense Melvin R. Laird announces that the US will reduce its military expenditure for 1970 by three billion dollars. The reduction means that military expenses will amount to 74,9 billion dollars. The measure is part of the 3,5 billion dollar budget reduction announced by Nixon.

October 7. The US and the USSR sign the so called Seabed pact which prohibits the deployment of weapons of mass destruction outside the twelve mile coastal limit as defined in the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea.

October 16.-21. The Brussels meeting of NATO. NATO secretary general, Manlio Brosio states that the Warsaw Pact’s proposal for an all-European security conference has three dangers: the Soviet Union excludes the US and Canada, or forces them to participate in a different status from the rest of the participants; NATO will be replaced by a different security organ; Moscow may try to use the conference to cement German division. - Senator Mansfield, the leader of the Senate majority prepares to table a draft on the significant reduction of the US army in Europe. According to British defense secretary Denis Healy the reduction of the American army would mean that Europe would need to rely on nuclear arms to a greater extent, thus the nuclear threshold would be lower, which in turn would reduce strategic flexibility.

October 20.-28. Soviet leaders’ nine-day visit in Prague. According to their joint communiqué, the two countries strengthen economic, political and social relations; the Soviet Union will increase its deliveries of oil, pig iron, cotton and other commodities. It is announced that cooperation and friendship between the Czechoslovak army and the provisionally stationed Soviet units will be deepened.

October 25. According to a joint Soviet-American announcement the two countries will commence preliminary talks in Helsinki on the limitation of the strategic arms race (SALT talks). Both the MIRV and the ABM systems will be part of the talks.

October 31. According to the joint communiqué of the Warsaw Pact member states, an all-European security conference can be held in Helsinki in the first part of the 70s. They also recommend the expansion of economic, technical and scientific links. – NATO rejects an all-European security conference for the near future, since the US and Canada were not invited.® January 13 1970.

November 24.-29. For the first time in the post war period a British prime minister visits Romania.

January 13. The head of the Soviet Foreign Ministry press section, Leonid Zamiatin, announces that his country accepts US participation at the prospective European security conference.

February 6. Yugoslavia and the EEC sign a three-year non-preferential, non-discriminative commercial treaty. (This is the EEC’s first general trade treaty with an East European state). According to the treaty, the EEC reduces the duty on Yugoslavian beef by 25% and promises to speed up the Kennedy Round talks, which would make it possible to reduce duty on certain Yugoslavian export items. Earlier negotiations failed because France opposed the inclusion of Yugoslavian beef into the agreement. Yugoslavia had a continual trade deficit with the EEC.

February 18. President Nixon’s Congressional message on the foreign policy of the US, in which the President talks about the “unnatural division of Europe”. The US “is not out to employ negotiations as a forum for cold-war invective and ideological debate”. He wants to deal with his communist “adversaries” as nations that follow what they perceive to be their interest. The talks must follow the quid pro quo principle. The US does not intend to “undermine the legitimate security interests of the Soviet Union” and “the time is certainly passed when any power would seek to exploit Eastern Europe to obtain strategic advantage against the Soviet Union”. The American government’s willingness to negotiate seeks to reduce this tension. Washington treats these states as sovereign countries and not as “parts of a monolith” and would not accept any doctrine that would “abridges their right to seek reciprocal improvement of relations with us or others”. Nixon is ready to start talks with these countries looking toward “a gradual normalization of relations” and was willing to adjust “to whatever pace and extent of normalization these countries are willing to sustain”. – The World Bank announces a 40 million dollar loan to develop the Yugoslav telephone network.

March 10. It is announced that the US will start deploying MIRV-ed missiles will begin in June. The announcement was made when Soviet diplomats expressed their interest through informal channels to ban the testing and deployment of MIRVs. According to the chief of staff of the US air force, the USSR is deploying missiles at such a pace that it is evidently striving for strategic superiority.

April 6. After preliminary talks in Helsinki, the SALT talks begin in Vienna. Nixon says that the American goal is to limit the ABM systems on a low level and to set an upper ceiling for ICBMs and SLBMs. According to the secretary of defense, in the past five years the USSR increased the megaton value of its warheads five fold, while the US reduced it by 40%. – According to figures given by the London Institute for Strategic Studies the US has 4235, the USSR 1880 deliverable warheads. Nixon claims that the US has 1054, the Soviet Union 1240 ICBMs . At the same time the US deployed 600 SLBMS as opposed to 200 by the Soviet Union.® May 26 1972.

April 14. According to a report by the New York Times, US-Hungarian relations are developing so rapidly that Washington may soon return the Holy Crown to Budapest.® January 6 1978.

April 29. The US lifted the export ban on 222 commodities to communist states with the exception of China, Cuba, North Korea and North Vietnam. The items include textiles, chemicals, iron and steel products, office machines, telephone and telegraph equipment agricultural machinery, certain television, radio and machine tool parts.

May 14. The president of Ford Motor Co. announces that it will not satisfy a Soviet request to build a truck factory in the USSR. It is assumed that the company cancelled the deal at government pressure.

June 19. Romanian party leader Ceausescu concludes his five day visit in France in the course of which he had talks with President Georges Pompidou. The two countries agree in doubling their trade of 250 million dollars in the next five years, increased industrial cooperation including the assembly of Reanult motorcars and Alouette type helicopters in Romania.

June 22. The Budapest conference of the foreign ministers of the Warsaw Pact urges convening an all-European security conference as soon as possible with US and Canadian participation.

June 28. Romanian foreign minister Corneliu Manescu’s talks with secretary of state Rogers in San Francisco. On the 29^th Manescu meets Nixon.

August 12. The Soviet Union and the FRG sign a treaty that renounces the use of force in settling disputes between the two states. The treaty recognizes the Oder-Neisse line as the German-Polish border.® December 7 1971.

September 11. A Soviet-French agreement is signed according to which Renault will help build a Soviet truck factory.

October 12. Five NASA engineers take part in a conference in Moscow to discuss how a Soviet and an American spacecraft could be linked up in outer space.® July 17 1975.

October 13. French President Georges Pompidou and Nikolai Podgornii sign a political and economic agreement in Moscow. According to the political agreement the foreign ministers of the two states meet twice annually, particularly at times of political crises in order to strengthen their political consultations embracing international problems of mutual interest. A separate economic document envisions the doubling of Franco-Soviet trade until 1974 and contains a preliminary agreement on French participation in exploiting Russian mineral reserves. – Pompidou is seen off by Brezhnev, a gesture that transcends usual protocol requirements. Pompidou visited Baikonur.® October 25.-30. 1971.

November 2. According to SIPRI’s report, the USSR caught up with the US in the field of ICBMs. The institute reported that in 1970 there were 50 thousand tons of nuclear explosives in the world.

November 6. The Nixon administration rejects the sale to Poland of high technology oil equipment.® August 24 1971.

December 7. In a Polish-West German treaty the two states renounce the use of force in the settlement of disputes. The FRG recognizes the Oder-Neisse line as Poland’s boundary.

February 25. Nixon on the world: “An assessment of US-Soviet relations at this point in my Administration has to be mixed.” Nixon called the SALT talks, the seabed treaty, the ratification of the non-proliferation treaty, the Berlin talks hopeful developments. The President claims that the USSR significantly increased its strategic capabilities in the past year. While the US did not raise the number of its ICBMs, Moscow increased its own from 1109 to 1440, and its SLBMs from 240 to 350. – According to Nixon one of the main differences between the two powers is in the definition of offensive strategic weapons. The Soviets define as strategic offensive weapon each one capable of reaching the territory of the other, but they exclude their own theater nuclear forces with medium or intermediate range missiles. The US wants to link the agreement on defensive and offensive weapons, while the USSR wants to agree on defensive systems. The President pledges to maintain and develop US forces in Europe. On détente the President asserts that it meant “negotiating the concrete conditions of mutual security that will allow for expanded intra-European contact and cooperation without jeopardizing the security of any country. Soviet policies and doctrine, however, too often interpret détente in terms of Western ratification of the status-quo and the acknowledgment of continuing Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe.” Nixon promises to ask for Congressional guarantee of American private investment in Romania and Yugoslavia.

March 15. France and the Soviet Union sign a seven million dollar uranium agreement in the framework of which the Soviet Union undertakes to enrich French uranium. The agreement breaks the monopoly of the US Atomic Energy Commission to enrich uranium for the Western states and obliges the Soviet Union to produce enriched uranium for an atomic power station to be built in France.

May 14. Brezhnev calls on the Western states to start talks on troop reduction in Central Europe.

May 16. US secretary of state Rogers states that his country is ready to conduct talks with Moscow on troop reduction in Central Europe. (The Soviet proposal came when Democratic Party senator Mike Mansfield recommended a 50% troop reduction in Europe. Mansfield’s proposal was voted down with 61 to 36 votes in the Senate).

May 20. The US and the Soviet Union announce that the SALT I talks will focus on the reduction of ABM systems. According to Nixon this is a significant development that could give new impetus to the talks that were in a deadlock for a year.

June 4. In a communiqué issued after the Lisbon meeting of NATO foreign ministers NATO accepts Brezhnev’s offer on troop reduction talks. The communiqué says that the talks may commence irrespectively of the security conference. – Secretary of State Rogers states that the US administration can resist congressional pressure for the reduction of US forces in Europe if NATO uses every opportunity to achieve force reduction with the Warsaw Pact.

June 17. A US company, Mark Trucks Inc. makes public a preliminary agreement to sell machine tools worth 750 million dollars and 100 trucks valued at 22 million dollars to the Soviet Union. The accord requires finalization and White House approval. – September 15. The treaty lapses when the deadline passed for US approval of the deal.

August 24. The US government permits the sale of oil refining equipment to Poland that was denied a year earlier. According to the announcement of the deal the transaction corresponds to the improving tendency of US-Polish relations.

September 14. Poland receives a 25 million dollar loan to buy American agricultural goods.

September 15. The nine day visit of a Yugoslav military mission in the US comes to an end, the aim of which was to forge “normal, friendly military contacts” with the Atlantic power.

September 28. After a forced asylum of fifteen years Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty leaves the US Embassy in Budapest and goes to the Vatican. – In Geneva the US and the Soviet Union present their common proposal to ban biological weapons.

October 6. NATO commissions its former Secretary-General Manlio Brosio to start preliminary talks with the Soviet Union on troop reduction in Central Europe.

October 25.-30. Brezhnev visits Paris where he is given the reception of a head of state. – October 27. A ten-year economic treaty is signed to increase Franco-Soviet trade. Renault signs a 200 million dollar deal to construct a diesel motor plant for the truck factory Kama.® November 18, December 22, 1971. – October 30. Brezhnev and Pompidou issue a common declaration. They attach a “declaration of principle” in which they name five conditions of peaceful coexistence: the immutability of present boundaries, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, equality, independence, renouncing the use of force and the threat to use force. The Soviet-French declaration declares that it is not directed against any nation and does not involve the two countries’ obligations to other states.® June 26.-27. 1973.

October 27.-November 8. Yugoslav President Tito’s visit in the US, Canada and the UK. – October 28. Tito meets Nixon, who calls the Yugoslav politician “a world statesman of the first rank”. He adds: ”May our friendship…always be steadfast and strong and may our dedication to the principle of the right of every nation in the world to be independent in a world of peace be as steadfast and strong .” – October 30. A joint communiqué is issued after the second meeting of the US and the Yugoslav leader according to which, “Yugoslavia’s policy of non-aligned policy has been a significant element in international relations. Countries following such a policy, together with the rest of the world can make an active contribution to the resolution of world problems and to the more favorable evolution of international relations.”

November 5. The US sells wheat valued at 136 million dollars to the Soviet Union. The agreement was made possible by the fact that the American seamen’s union withdrew their demand to ship 50% of the wheat in American vessels.

November 18. The US department of commerce announces that it has permitted US companies to sell the USSR 528 million dollars worth of equipment and technical data for the construction of the Kama truck factory. The department’s spokesman said that the license would allow American businessmen to participate in the international competition for the construction of the truck factory.

November 20. US secretary of commerce Maurice H. Stans negotiates with Soviet premier Kosigin in Moscow. The topic: the improvement of bilateral trade relations. In the course of his visit the USSR bought 25 million dollars worth of mining and oil drilling equipment from US firms. – After Moscow, Stans visits Poland. He says that the US “sets its sight on a substantial increase in trade with Poland”. Stans also announces that he will recommend the extension to Poland of credits through the US Export-Import Bank.

November 30. President Nixon empowers the Export-Import Bank to grant credit to Romania for the purchase of US goods. According to the Export Expansion Finance Act passed in August, the President may make such concessions to communist states if it is in the national interest of the United States.

December 7. NATO’s Eurogroup decides that the member states will increase their defense expenditures by one billion dollars. According to British defense secretary Lord Carrington, America can be well satisfied with what Europe has done. He states to journalists that those who criticize European efforts sometimes do so without knowing the facts. He adds that the European members constitute 90% of NATO’s ground forces, 75% of its air force and 80% of its navy.

December 9. Soviet minister of agriculture Vladimir U. Matskevich announces that his country wants to buy from the US agricultural machinery and licenses for the manufacture in the USSR of tractors and combine-harvesters by the “millions”.

December 22. A Pittsburgh firm signs an agreement for the construction of a steel plant for the Kama truck project.

December 31. NASA announces that a Soviet-American space research information agreement will be signed.

January 12. Soviet minister of culture Ekaterina A. Furtseva opens a Soviet art exhibition in Washington. The next day she meets President Nixon’s wife in the White House.

January 14. Republican congressman James H. Scheuer is expelled from the Soviet Union. The government newspaper Izvestia accuses Scheuer of carrying a document that openly advocates the establishment of an anti-Soviet subversive organization in the US. Izvestia accuses Republican representatives Alphonzo Bell and Richard Blades that they encouraged Soviet Zionists to take part at the Zionist World Conference in Jerusalem. Izvestia charged also that Republican representative Earl Landgrebe intentionally disseminated religious literature in public places. Landgrebe claims that he was assured by the State Department that the material was acceptable in the Soviet Union and he wanted to leave it in a church, but “could not find one”.

January 26. One employee dies, 13 are injured in an attempt against the headquarters of Sol Hurok Enterprises, which arranges the American tours of Soviet artists. An unknown person announces that the attempt was carried out in protest against “the deaths and imprisonment of Soviet Jews” for which “Soviet culture is responsible”. The person finished the message with the slogan of the so-called Jewish Defense League.

February 9. Nixon’s state of the world message. According to the President, the US-Soviet relationship will be marked by competition for a long time to come and the US will be confronted by “ambiguous and contradictory trends in Soviet foreign policy”. The President presented a list of tasks ahead: an arms limitation treaty, the discussion of all aspects of European security and the identification of common objectives, which could serve as the basis for the normalization of East-West relations.

February 15. US Secretary of Defense Laird announces in Congress that he will ask for an increase of the defense budget next year. He signals that the Nixon administration is ready to raise the number of nuclear missiles, which remained unchanged since 1967. According to the secretary, Moscow has 50% more ground based nuclear missiles than the US and in 1973 it could have more SLBMs. At the same time he admits that in terms of bombs and warheads, the US has an advantage of 7500 to 2700.

March 23. A Yugoslav-American joint company is established. The agreement was made between a Yugoslav copper and an American marketing company. The profit is divided 50-50%.

April 25. The White House announces that the national security advisor, Henry Kissinger was on a secret mission in Moscow between April 20-24. Kissinger negotiated with Brezhnev.

May 1. The White House announces that as a result of confidential exchanges between Soviet and American leaders the chances for the SALT treaty improved. The leader of the US SALT delegation will receive new instructions.

May 15. A two year commercial and a five year technological and industrial treaty of cooperation is signed between Romania and Great Britain.

May 26. US President Nixon and Soviet Party First Secretary Brezhnev sign the SALT treaty in the Kremlin. It is made up of two parts. One limits the ABM systems, while the other offensive nuclear weapons. According to the ABM agreement both sides can deploy two ABM systems each. One may protect the capital city, the other a part of the offensive weapon systems. Each system may be comprised of 100 interceptor missiles. The keeping of the treaty is monitored by spy satellites, the parties may not interfere with the other’s satellites and may not take measures that impede verification. (The ABM treaty is based on the principle of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Since it limits the defense systems, it assures that the counter-value strike of both sides may reach their targets. Thus each side holds the population of the other hostage. Hence the principle of MAD: since in the case of a nuclear attack the aggressor’s population will be wiped out, it is not worth launching the attack. Hence the nuclear threat need not be realized, which increases security and stability).® August 5 1980; March 23 1983. – The other, so called interim agreement on offensive weapons forbade the deployment of fixed ICBMs after July 1, 1972 and limited the number of SLBMs and submarines capable of launching them. – The summit ended on May 29 with a joint declaration and a declaration of principle. The joint declaration asserted that both sides will strive for “peaceful coexistence” on the basis of “sovereignty, equality and non-interference in internal affairs, and mutual advantage.” It was stated that the two countries had a “special responsibility” in precluding international crises “and will do their utmost to avoid military confrontations”. They emphasized the significance of developing bilateral economic and trade relations.® July 20 1972.

May 31.-June 1. Nixon’s visit to Warsaw, where among other things he discussed the development of trade and economic relations with his host, Polish party first secretary Edward Gierek.

July 5. US Secretary of State Rogers arrives in Bucharest where he signs a consular agreement to promote normal travel and commercial relations. Rogers negotiates with party first secretary Ceausescu.

July 6. In the course of his visit in Budapest Rogers conducts talks with János Kádár. This is the first time that the first secretary of the HSWP conducts talks with a member of the US cabinet. Rogers invites foreign minister János Péter for a visit in Washington.

July 8. Nixon announces that the US signed a three year contract with the USSR in which the Soviets buy 750 million dollars worth of American wheat, maize and other cereals. This is the largest ever grain deal between the two states.

July 20. Soviet-American talks start in Moscow about a general commercial treaty, the main obstacle is that the Soviet land-lease debt is unsettled. Without settling the debt originating from World War II the Soviet Union cannot count on long-term credit or favorable customs policy.® January 10, 1975.

October 6. France and Poland sign a ten-year friendship and cooperation treaty during the visit in Paris of Edward Gierek. Gierek sounds his dissatisfaction for the French not having granted the most favored nation treatment.

October 13. A preliminary agreement is signed on the payment by Hungary to the US of 20 million dollars to compensate damage to US property during World War II and to settle claims deriving from American property seized by the Hungarian government.® March 6, 1973.

October 20. The Soviet Union orders 68 million dollars worth of tractors and pipe laying machines from a US company. The machines will be used to lay pipes carrying Soviet natural gas to Western Europe.

November 16. An agreement is signed on the production and sale of Pepsi Cola in the Soviet Union. According to the agreement a subsidiary of Pepsico will be the sole distributor of Soviet wine, champagne and brandy in the USSR.

November 21. The SALT talks are resumed in Geneva.® June 20, 1973.

November 22. The preparatory talks for the European security conference start in Helsinki.® July 3, 1973.

January 12. The US General Electric Company signs a wide range research and technology exchange program with the Soviet Union. The GE vice-president says that the contract has no special monetary value but might be a beginning that could lead to a turnover of several hundred million dollars.

January 16. According to figures published by the American embassy in Moscow in the first eleven months of 1972, US exports to the USSR increased from 134 million dollars in the same period of the previous year to 449 million and Soviet export to the US was up from 54 million dollars to 83 million.

January 22. The USSR presents a four-point draft for the agenda of the CSCE conference: security relations of the European states; economic and cultural cooperation; the establishment of a consultative body to monitor the execution of the treaty. ® July 3, 1973.

January 23. Nixon announces that the US is signing a peace agreement with North Vietnam. From the President’s January 20 inaugural address: “The time is gone when America will make every other nation’s conflict our own or make every other nation’s future our responsibility, or presume to tell the people of other nations how to manage their affairs…Let us continue to bring down the walls of hostility which have divided the world and to build in their place bridges of understanding…”

March 6. Hungary agrees with the US government on the payment of 18.9 million dollars for US property damaged in the war or nationalized and renounces 3.3 million dollars of Hungarian assets in the US. In return Washington agrees to release blocked Hungarian accounts.® December 24, 1976.

March 20. The US opens a commercial office in Moscow.

April 4. An American company signs an agreement in Bucharest for the establishment of a joint company specializing in the production of computer equipment. – Speech by deputy secretary of state Kenneth Rush at the Annapolis Naval Academy: The US “would like to see more American businessmen begin to pursue profitable business deals…in confidence that doing business in Eastern Europe is fully consonant with the US national interest”.

April 12. An eight billion dollar artificial fertilizer deal is signed between the US and the Soviet Union. This is the first time the American administration approved a private contract with the USSR.

April 13. The Soviet government agrees to grant multiple entry visas to American businessmen.

April 18. A Soviet-British protocol is signed in Moscow on the development of scientific and industrial cooperation. The protocol ended two years of hostility between the two states after 105 Soviet diplomats were expelled from Great Britain in 1971.® May 6, 1974.

April 23. Brezhnev tells US Senators that the USSR would like to increase its trade with the US significantly and will not allow the question of Jewish emigration to interfere.

May 6.-9. US national security advisor Henry Kissinger visits Moscow, where he negotiates with Brezhnev. In a joint declaration they expressed satisfaction on the general and constructive nature of the talks but failed to designate a date for Brezhnev’s proposed visit to Washington.® June 16.-25.

May 14. Formal preparatory talks begin in Vienna between the 19 states of NATO and the Warsaw Pact on troop reduction in Central Europe.® January 14, 1974.

May 31. The Export Import Bank approves a 180 million dollar credit at an interest rate of 6% for the Soviet Union to buy 400-500 million dollars worth of equipment and engineering services for an artificial fertilizer factory and a pipe complex to be built by Occidental Petroleum Co.® May 21, 1974. – NBC and the Soviet government sign a contract on the exchange of news-and entertainment programs.

June 8. Preliminary agreement between the US and the USSR is signed on a 10 billion dollar, 25 year investment in the framework of which Siberian natural gas would be taken to the Western coast of the US. One of the signatories is the president of Occidental Petroleum Co., Armand Hammer. – According to a report by the Congress Foreign Relations Committee, Soviet-American trade yields only slight economic advantage, but may result in important political advantages. If as a result of growing trade Moscow rearranges its priorities and allows Western businessmen to influence its decisions, the Soviet threat on American national security may diminish and may move the USSR to become part of the Western international system, says the report.

June 16.-25. Brezhnev’s visit in Washington.® June 27.-July 3. The Soviet delegation includes foreign minister Gromyko and minister of trade Nikolai S. Patolichev. – June 19. The two countries sign an oceanographical, transport, agricultural, research and cultural exchange agreement. – In a meeting with 25 congressional leaders Brezhnev seeks support for the most favored nation status, the deliberation of which Congress suspended because of impedement of the emigration of Soviet Jews.

June 20. Nixon and Brezhnev sign a declaration of principle on the acceleration of the SALT talks.® February 4.-5. 1974.

June 22. A Soviet-American agreement is signed on avoiding nuclear war between the two super powers, as well as between the two states and a third power. The contract prescribes “urgent consultations” in case there is threat of a nuclear war.

June 23. A protocol is signed on the expansion of Soviet-American civil aviation. PanAm will be able to fly to Leningrad in addition to Moscow and Aeroflot to New York in addition to Washington. According to a joint communiqué, trade between the two states may reach 2-3 billion dollars, but no mention is made on the most favored nation clause.

June 26.-27. Brezhnev’s visit in Paris. He negotiates with French President Pompidou and assures him that Soviet-US détente has no negative bearing on European security or the independence of other states. Pompidou expressed satisfaction that the rapprochement of the US and the USSR is a step towards détente and peace but added that it will not mean a reduction of the French military force. Pompidou emphasizes the importance of an independent French deterrent and continues to oppose troop reduction in Central Europe.® March 13, 1974.

July 3. The CSCE conference is officially opened in Helsinki. The questions to be discussed: the general areas of security, human relations, economic and scientific affairs.® July 30, 1975.

July 9. The US Secretary of State signs a consular agreement in Prague, which is meant to install regular trade and travel between the two states. Rogers met party first secretary Gustav Husak and asked him to moderate anti-American propaganda and to allow 31 Czechoslovakian citizens to join their relatives in the US.

July 18.-21. French Prime Minister Pierre Messmer visits Hungary and Bulgaria.

September 6. According to the London Institute for Strategic Studies the Warsaw Pact has 871 thousand troops, 14,800 tanks and 2770 tactical aircraft in Central Europe. The figures for NATO: 719 thousand, 6430, 1720.

September 10. For the first time in ten years the Soviet Union ceases to jam VOA and other Western stations.

October 3. According to US secretary of finance George P. Schultz Soviet-American trade reached 900 million dollars till the end of July. This is higher than the 1971-1972 figure put together.® February 6, 1974. The US export to the Warsaw Pact states trebled in the first half of 1974 and exceeded one billion dollars. Until August import grew to 228 million dollars as compared to 140 million in the same period the year before.

December 2.-5. British Secretary of Foreign Affairs Sir Alexander Douglas Home visits Moscow.® May 6, 1974.

December 4.-5. Ceausescu’s two day visit in Washington. He signs a declaration of principle with Nixon in which they express their desire for the “continued development of friendly relations”. The political declaration reinforced the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, which according to Ceausescu was a “historical” support for his country’s independent foreign policy. Agreements on industrial and economic cooperation, civil aviation fishing and tax are signed. Nixon expresses his support for Romania’s most favored nation status.® July 28, 1975.

December 7. According to a French-Soviet agreement France raises a loan to the USSR from 4.5 billion franks to 6 billion. The Soviet Union buys 100 million dollars worth of French equipment, technology and building know-how for a petrochemical factory.

January 7. Romania and AT&T sign an agreement on scientific, technical, commercial and industrial cooperation in the field of telecommunications, industry and consumer goods.

January 16. The US cancels the Leningrad Kirov ballet’s tour in the US. The reason: the Soviet Union did not allow two former members of the Kirov ballet to emigrate to the US.

January 17. The Central European arms reduction talks are resumed. NATO wants to reduce Soviet and American land forces first, while the Warsaw Pact wants to extend it to the nuclear and air forces. NATO wants to reduce Warsaw Pact troops by 225 thousand and by 77 thousand its own units. The Warsaw Pact recommends equal reduction for both alliances.

February 4.-5. Soviet minister of foreign affairs Gromyko’s talks with US national security advisor Kissinger and President Nixon in Washington. They agree on resuming the SALT talks.® March 24.-28.

February 6. According to a report in 1973 Soviet-American trade doubled and reached 1.4 billion dollars.

February 14.-18. Gromyko’s four-day visit in Paris.

March 13. The two-day talks between Brezhnev and French President Pompidou end in the Black Sea resort of Picunda.® December 5.-7. At the press conference held after the talks Pompidou supports Brezhnev’s call to accelerate the Geneva security talks but does not agree that a summit with the participation of 35 states should end the conference.

March 24.-28. The Moscow talks of national security advisor Kissinger. The main topic of the talks were the SALT II negotiations. Kissinger came up with a proposal meant as a conceptional break-through, but it did not bring the expected result. There was no progress on the Central European arms reduction talks either.

April 9. US Secretary of Commerce Frederick Dent expresses his hope that Congress will pass the cabinet’s trade bill. Dent said this in Moscow where he was staying as the leader of a commercial delegation. In his view the participation of 76 US companies at the Moscow trade fair signals that American businessmen wish to develop Soviet-American commercial enterprises. At the same time Senators Jackson and Ribicoff tell Kissinger that they will do everything against the passage of the trade bill if Moscow fails to guarantee the emigration of Jews and others.® December 20, 1974.

May 6. Great Britain and the USSR sign a ten-year economic, scientific and technological treaty of cooperation.

May 21. The US Export-Import Bank announces a 180 million dollar credit to the USSR as contribution to a two billion dollar artificial fertilizer and natural gas complex. This is the largest credit the bank ever extended to the USSR.

June 5. In a speech given at the Naval Academy Nixon emphasizes that the US cannot use its foreign policy to transform other societies, its main responsibility in the nuclear age is to forestall a war that could annihilate humanity.

June 27.-July 3. Nixon’s visit in Moscow. – June 29. A ten-year economic agreement is signed. – July 2. No arms limitation treaty is signed, but underground nuclear tests are limited. – Nixon attributes the results of détente to his good personal relationship with Brezhnev. – According to Secretary of State Kissinger the most detailed negotiations ever of such high level conducted on the arms race took place, such figures were cited that not long ago would have figured as the violation of the intelligence code. – Senator Fulbright accused Congressional and military hawks of undermining the whole idea of détente. – Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger refutes an earlier assertion by Kissinger according to which the military bear the responsibility for the summit not bringing more positive results.® November 23.-24.

July 6. A preliminary agreement is made between the US and Czechoslovakia on the settlement of post-war financial claims. The US returns to Czechoslovakia 20.4 tons of gold that had been removed by the Germans and which was under the control of the British-French-American tripartite Gold Committee. It is valued at cc. 80 million dollars. Czechoslovakia pays compensation for nationalized US property and for the debt deriving from surplus property credit (all in all about 80 million dollars). – The US compensates Prague for a steel plant it purchased in 1946, but which was never delivered.

July 31. The French Creusot-Loire Company signs a 210 million dollar deal with the Soviet Union to build two ammonia plants.

September 9. Bulgaria is the last state to announce that it will no longer jam VOA.

September 24. An agreement is signed on the expansion of US-Bulgarian commercial relations.

October 4. The US administration refuses a Soviet request to buy 3.4 million tons of wheat.

October 8.-9. The first secretary of the Polish communist party, Edward Gierek travels to Washington where he meets US President Gerald Ford. Gierek is the highest ranking Polish politician that visited the US since the war. Nine documents are signed, two of which contain declarations of “friendship” and “good political relations”. It is announced that Ford accepted an invitation to visit Poland.

November 23.-24. The Vladivostok meeting of Gerald Ford and Leonid I. Brezhnev. A preliminary agreement is signed on the limitation of nuclear delivery vehicles and MIRVs. The agreement does not involve the number of warheads. The agreement was made possible by a Soviet concession according to which US strategic bombers deployed in Europe were not taken into account. According to the agreement both sides may possess 2400 ICBMs, SLBMs and nuclear bombers. Out of these 1320 may be equipped with more than one warheads.

December 5.-7. Leonid I. Brezhnev visits France. – December 6. Brezhnev and French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing sign a five-year, 2.65 billion dollar commercial agreement. A twenty year agreement is signed on the sale of 2.5 billion, later 4 billion cubic meters of Soviet natural gas to France; agreement is made on the construction of a 1.15 billion dollar aluminum complex in Siberia, the cost of which is covered 50-50% by the two sides. France extends a 2.5 billion dollar credit to finance the Soviet orders.® March 19-24.

December 20. The US Senate passes the Trade Reform Act. According to it tariffs on goods from developing countries can be abolished with the exception of communist states, this does not go for Romania and Yugoslavia. The USSR may receive trade benefits if it relaxes emigration controls primarily for Jews. The Jackson-Vanik amendment ties the most favored nation clause to the liberalization of emigration. – Congress maximized the amount of Export-Import Bank loan that can be granted to the Soviet Union.® January 10, 1975.

January 10. The Soviet Union informs the US that because of the Jackson-Vanik amendment it will not ratify the trade agreement signed in 1972, which would have unconditionally abolished discriminative trade restrictions. The USSR resents the Jackson-Vanik amendment and the restriction of Export-Import Bank loans, which it deems contrary to the 1972 trade agreement and the principle of non-interference in domestic affairs. – Kissinger says that this step means that Moscow will not service its lend lease debt after 1975 therefore will not be eligible for the most favored nation treatment. Kissinger claims that in the past two years Moscow received 479 million dollars from the Bank.

January 14. According to a US report the Soviet Union started to deploy 5518 MIRV-ed missiles.

January 15. President Ford states in his state of the union address: “If our foreign policy is to be successful we cannot rigidly restrict in legislation the president’s ability to act…Legislative restrictions intended for the best motives and purposes can have the opposite result as we have seen more recently in our trade relations with the Soviet Union”. With the communist states Ford hopes “to build a long-term basis for coexistence.”

February 12.-17. British prime minister Harold Wilson visits the USSR. The two sides pledge to develop bilateral relations. Wilson announces that in the next five years London will grant the Soviet Union 2.39 billion dollars in low interest loans to buy British machinery and equipment. The prime minister said of his talks with Brezhnev that those open a new age in Anglo-Soviet relations.

March 19.-21. French President Jacques Chirac in the USSR. The joint communiqué issued after the visit used the term “lasting coexistence” instead of the one used earlier, “irreversible coexistence”. Observers attribute this change to a slight cooling of the relations between the two countries, namely to the fact that Moscow is unhappy about the improvement of US-French relations.® October 14.-18, 1975.

March 31.-April 2. At the invitation of the British TUC the president of the Central Council of Soviet Trade Unions, Aleksandr Shelepin visits Great Britain. According to Shelepin the visit is of historical significance and allows a fundamental improvement of the relations between the trade unions of the two countries, such as the development of the Anglo-Soviet Trade Union Committee.

May 22. According to a report by the New York Times two financial agreements were concluded between Poland and the US. One allows Poland to defer its obligation to repurchase in dollars the Polish currency accumulated in the US as a result of a commercial agreement twenty years before. The second allows citizens in Poland that retired in the US to receive American pensions.

June 10.-11. The discussions of Soviet foreign minister Gromyko and secretary of state Kissinger on nuclear arms limitation. The main points of the talks are the following: how to monitor the number of MIRVs (for instance only a part of the Soviet Union’s ICBMs are equipped with more than one warheads); the condition that for cruise missiles the US does not accept the 2400 limit on delivery vehicles agreed upon in Vladivostok, while the USSR does.

July 15. British secretary of foreign affairs James Callaghan signs a declaration with his Polish counterpart, Stefan Olszowski on the development of friendly relations.

July 16.-17. It is revealed that the USSR is buying 3.2 million tons of wheat from the US and Canada.

July 17. The American Apollo and the Soviet Soiuz spacecrafts are linked in outer space.

July 28. The US President meets Polish party leader Edward Gierek in Warsaw. – The US House of Representatives grants the most favored nation status for Romania. The clause was earlier approved for Yugoslavia and Poland in the Senate. Romania is the third communist nation to receive this benefit. (Earlier on Romanian party leader Ceausescu visited Washington to gain support for the most favored nation treatment. He met 12 Senators and Representatives).® November 21, 1976.

July 30. The CSCE conference meets in Helsinki in order to accept the conference’s final document. President Ford is heavily criticized for his participation at the conference, for example by California Governor Ronald Reagan, who states that “all Americans should be against” the final document. Senator Jackson thinks that the CSCE declaration would constitute a Western back down from the principle of self-determination for the Baltic and East European states. – In his final address Leonid Brezhnev asserts that the main conclusion of the final declaration is that “No one should try to dictate to other peoples, on the basis of foreign policy considerations of one kind or another, the manner in which they ought to manage their internal affairs.” According to Brezhnev the CSCE’s result is that “there are neither victors or vanquished, winners or losers”. After signing the final document, which is not binding, the US President declares that “peace is not a piece of paper…history will judge this conference not by what we do today, but what we do tomorrow, not by the promises we make but by the promises we keep”. The final document accepted the inviolability, but not the immutability of the European borders. The signatories pledged to respect the basic freedom and human rights such as the freedom of thought, conscience and religion. They obliged themselves for the peaceful solution of disputes, and to announce war games larger than 25 thousand 21 days prior to the event. According to Senator Henry Jackson the final document would represent “a sign of the West’s retreat” from “a crucial point of principle, the right of self-determination of the Baltic states and Eastern Europe. Ford sought to appease critics by noting that the USSR and the other Eastern bloc nations had made a concession to the West by accepting the possibility of peaceful adjustments of frontiers as provided by the final document.

August 5. The Soviet government refuses to issue multiple visas for foreign journalists as prescribed by the CSCE final document.

August 14. Brezhnev meets 18 Congressional representatives in Yalta. Brezhnev assures them that the USSR will keep the clause of the CSCE final document relating to the freedom of information.

August 18. AFL-CIO calls for boycott because the American administration sold wheat to the Soviet Union. AFL-CIO president George Meany declares that until the interests of US consumers and shipping is taken into account the wheat will not be loaded. The trade unions want a larger part of the wheat to be shipped in US vessels. President Ford states that wheat export always serves American interest and is a part of US diplomatic objectives. – September 9. A provisional agreement is made between the administration and the trade unions on terminating the boycott. – The USSR announces that it will issue multiple visas for foreign journalists.

September 17. According to a report by the New York Times the Soviet bloc received 594 million dollars in loans in 1974 and 960 million dollars in the first part of 1975.

October 1. US secretary of defense Schlesinger returns from his tour in Europe, where he warned the allies not reduce their military expenditures any further. The secretary urged the increase of conventional forces so as to reduce reliance on nuclear forces in case of conflict, since in terms of nuclear forces the USSR by and large caught up with the US. Schlesinger also called for a higher level of harmonization of NATO weaponry.

October 14.-18. The Moscow visit of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. The French President seeks to extend détente to ideological struggle, while Brezhnev emphasizes: international détente does not end the struggle of ideas.® June 20.-22, 1977.

December. Kissinger’s advisor, Helmudt Sonnenfeldt defines US policy as “a policy of responding to the clearly visible aspirations in Eastern Europe for a more autonomous existence within the context of a strong Soviet geopolitical influence”. Some observers interpreted the Sonnenfeldt doctrine as US acceptance of permanent Soviet hegemony over Eastern Europe.

January 13. The US Department of Defense announces that at Yugoslavia’s request the administration is willing to place military equipment at Yugoslavia’s disposal. The US has not sold arms to Yugoslavia for 15 years, since in 1961 Tito did not renew the military agreements.

January 14. Henry Kissinger on the SALT talks: The US never thought that it was doing the Soviets a favor by negotiating on the limitation of strategic arms with them. The limitation of strategic arms is a global issue that cannot be subordinated to the constant changes of Soviet-American relations.

January 23. Kissinger’s talks in Moscow on SALT-II. Kissinger negotiates with Brezhnev, Gromyko and other leading Soviet politicians. In Kissinger’s view the talks led to significant progress in SALT. They managed to agree on the definition of “heavy” and “light” missiles. Since the SALT treaty signed in 1972 failed to clarify the difference, the Soviet Union changed its SS-19 rockets since then to “light” SS-11s, the explosive power of which was raised by 50%. The US accuses Moscow of violating the “spirit” of the SALT-I treaty. The USSR recommends that the Vladivostok limit for missiles and strategic bombers should be lowered.

February 10. California Governor Ronald Reagan attacks Ford’s foreign policy: “One wonders if even we have a foreign policy, because it is impossible to detect a coherent global view.” “The balance of forces has been shifting gradually toward the Soviet Union since 1970…It has continued through the years of so-called détente…Let us not be satisfied with a foreign policy whose principle accomplishment seems to be our acquisition of the right to sell Pepsi Cola in Siberia.” Reagan accused American foreign policy of not negotiating from a position of strength with the Soviets.

February 24.-March 5. The Twenty-fifth congress of the CPSU. Brezhnev claims that détente establishes favorable conditions for the peaceful construction of communism. The party general secretary mentioned the fundamentally positive development of Soviet-American relations and praised the relationship between the Soviet Union and the capitalist countries. At the same time the Soviet leader condemned influential American circles, which try to undermine détente and those who try to interfere in Soviet domestic politics through trade and discrimination. Brezhnev identified the following objectives: the signing of the new SALT treaty, the improvement of relations with the Western states including Japan; convening a world disarmament conference and the signing of a treaty that would renounce the use of force in international relations; abolishing of discriminative commercial restrictions, and force reduction in Central Europe.

March 26. An American chemical firm signs a 700 million dollar agreement on investment with Yugoslavia in the framework of which a petrochemical plant will be built on the island of Krk. American sources claim that this is the largest ever US investment in the Balkan state.

March 29. Kissinger on US policy toward Eastern Europe: “Our policy in no sense accepts Soviet ’dominion’ of Eastern Europe nor is it in any way designed to seek the consolidation of such ’dominion’. On the contrary we seek to be responsive to, and encourage as responsibly as possible, the desire of East Europeans for greater autonomy, independence and more normal relations with the rest of the world. It is our policy that in this way there should also occur a greater Soviet acceptance of this autonomy and independence.”

May 20.-21. The Oslo meeting of the foreign ministers of NATO. Secretary of State Kissinger declares that NATO will continue to provide firm support to the West against Soviet military and ideological aggression irrespectively of who will win the election in November. According to Kissinger communist ideology poses a menace to Western institutions and values. NATO must strive to preclude Moscow’s expansionist aspirations. Regarding Eastern Europe Kissinger refuted Sonnenfeldt’s position that accepts spheres of influence. Kissinger stated that the US wants to encourage Eastern Europe’s independence and autonomy from the Soviet Union with responsible steps. (Sonnenfeldt, who was Kissinger’s close aid and thus his views were identified with those of the secretary of state, declared at a confidential briefing: the fact that the Soviets were unable to win Eastern Europe’s loyalty is an unfortunate historical failure, since Eastern Europe belongs to their sphere and national interest. US policy must be directed at an evolution between the East Europeans and the USSR, which would make their relationship organic. This worked in the case of Poland. The Poles were able to overcome their romantic leanings that led to catastrophe in the past.) Comments: Sulzberger, New York Times: This is like a call to the Kremlin to maximize its control over Eastern Europe and even integrate it into the Soviet Union.

May 26. The speaker of the State Department announces that four Soviet trade union leaders did not get a visa to the US. The decision was influenced by the AFL-CIO’s opposition. The Soviet press accuses the US of violating the Helsinki accord.

June 16. From the election platform of the Democratic Party: In the field of Soviet-American relations “A principle goal must be the continued reduction of tension with the Soviet Union…The continued USSR military dominance of many Eastern European countries remains a source of oppression for the peoples of those nations, an oppression we do not accept, and to which we are morally opposed. Any attempt by the Soviet Union to dominate other parts of Europe – such as Yugoslavia – would be an action posing a great threat to peace. Eastern Europe will not truly be an area of stability until these countries regain their independence and become part of a large European framework.”

June 25. Kissinger on Eastern Europe: “We are determined to deal with Eastern Europe on the basis of the sovereignty and independence of each of its countries. We recognize no sphere of influence and no pretensions of hegemony.” The West will “continue to pursue measures to improve the lives of the people in Eastern Europe in basic human terms – such as freer emigration, the unification of families, greater flow of information, increased economic interchange and more opportunities for travel”.

July 19. US-Soviet agreement that Moscow will raise the tariffs of its maritime shipping to the Western level. Earlier the Soviet state company used tariffs that were 20-40% lower than those of its Western competitors.

August 31. The US announces that the Soviet Union started to deploy multiple warhead intermediate range missiles in to Eastern Europe.

September 29. According to the data of the US commercial office in Moscow in the first half of 1976 the US delivered 1.4 billion dollars of goods to the Soviet Union as opposed to 521 million in the same period in 1975. The Soviet import from the US was 39,7 million dollars, which means a decline of 34 million dollars. In 1976 the US sold 3.3 million tons of grain to the USSR.

October 6. The televised debate of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. In defense of the Helsinki agreement Ford declares that “there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration.” – Carter’s reply: I would like to see Mr. Ford “convince the Polish-Americans and the Czech-Americans and the Hungarian-Americans that those countries do not live under the domination and supervision of the Soviet Union behind the Iron Curtain”.

October 14. At his televised press conference Ford acknowledges that he made a mistake by asserting that there was no Soviet domination in Eastern Europe. Carter says that “Ford disgraced our country by claiming Eastern Europe is free of the domination of the Soviet Union’”. He called the President’s statement “ridiculous” and said that Ford’s “claim of freedom is a cruel hoax upon millions of Eastern Europeans who lived under Soviet domination for their entire lives”. The president of the Polish-American Congress, Aloyzius Mazewski stated that the Polish Americans would have voted for the Republican candidate (Ford) as a change, but because of his statement many of them will vote for Carter. Carter expressed his sorrow for the incident to Mazewski by phone. – Viktor Viksnis, president of the Baltic Nations Committee declared “there are no free countries in Eastern Europe and the President should be the first to know that”. The president of the Ukrainian Congress Lev Dobriansky called Ford’s statement “preposterous and shocking”. In Kissinger’s view Ford wanted to say that “the US did not accept the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe”. President Ford tries to explain his statement at UCLA: “Last night at the debate I spoke of America’s firm support for the aspirations for independence of Eastern Europe.” The US “has never conceded and will never concede their domination by the Soviet Union”. “It is our policy to use every peaceful means to assist countries in Eastern Europe in their efforts to become less dependent on the Soviet Union and to establish closer and closer ties with the West – and, of course, with the United States of America”. He adds that he hopes for Polish independence and calls the presence of Soviet troops there “tragic”.

October 22. Presidential candidate Carter on Yugoslavia: “I think it would be unwise for us to say that we will go to war in Yugoslavia if the Soviets should invade – which I think would be an extremely unlikely thing…I would never go to war or become militarily involved in the internal affairs of another country unless our own security was directly threatened.” Carter was asked about his statement [if?] he would not go to war in Yugoslavia even if the Soviets sent troops.

November 3. The US and Czechoslovakia mutually reduce the travel restrictions of diplomatic representatives.

November 5. A congressional fact finding committee would like to monitor the observation of the Helsinki accord in Eastern Europe, but with the exception of Yugoslavia they are not allowed to enter.® January 12, 1977.

November 21. A 10 year agreement on trade and economic cooperation is signed between the US and Romania. This is the widest such agreement Washington made with an East European state.

December 24. The Department of Treasury of the US announces that Hungary paid 4.3 million dollars to the US for war damage of American property.

December 31. The head of the US Air Force intelligence, General George J. Keegan states his views on the strategic balance. While the American doctrine is based on avoiding war, the Soviet Union’s is on winning the war. The General claims that the Soviets achieved military superiority. Keegan was convinced by the Soviet civil defense program that the US is behind in the strategic arms race. According to Keegan the Soviets accomplished a program that guarantees that the basic civilian and military leadership, the fighting potential may survive in the circumstances of total war. This means that the Soviets are confident in the survival in war although they know that they must suffer huge losses in the process. – CIA President George Bush asserts in a program on CBS that he finds it outrageous that the Keegan report was leaked out and although he did not comment on the content he added: he has troubling signs at his disposal on Soviet military objectives.

January 12. An editor of Literaturnaia Gazeta is refused a visa to the US. The visa was denied because earlier Moscow failed to grant a visa to a congressional group, which was meant to monitor the execution of the Helsinki accord.

January 18. The new US ambassador to Moscow presents his credentials. Moscow held back the agreement for over two months, which is usually granted automatically. The delay was attributed to the fact that the Soviet leadership was unhappy about the appointment, since the ambassador’s views on Soviet-American relations are thought to be hard line. – In a speech given in Tula, Brezhnev urges the ratification of the Vladivostok agreement without renegotiation.

January 26. The State Department accuses Czechoslovakia of violating the Helsinki agreement. According to the communiqué the members of the Charter 77 group, who issued a manifesto in defense of human rights in Czechoslovakia are being harassed.

January 27. President Carter instructs the NSC to prepare to resume the SALT II talks with the USSR. The two sides are unable to agree whether to include in the Vladivostok agreement the Soviet Backfire strategic bomber and the US cruise missiles.® March 30, 1977. – The State Department releases a declaration in defense of Andrei Sakharov. “Any attempts by the Soviet authorities attempts to intimidate Mr. Sakharov will not silence legitimate criticism in the Soviet Union and will conflict with international standards in the field of human rights.” This is the first time the State Department spoke out for a member of the Soviet opposition. Carter said that he did not see the text but it was “his attitude”. He added: “preaching to other governments” may increase tension but the Soviet Union had to be made aware of “our deep commitment to human rights and our inclination to be at peace with the Soviet Union”.® February 7, 1977.

January 30. The report of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Soviet military strength is published. According to this, “available data” show: the Soviet Union has not achieved strategic superiority over the US, but it does have such aspirations. The report says that the US second strike capability will continue to suffice in the 1980s.

February 7. According to a statement by the State Department Secretary of State Cyrus Vance told Soviet ambassador Dobrynin that the US was “watching with concern” the case of Alexander Ginzburg who was arrested on February 3 with the charge of possessing foreign currency. Ginzburg is in charge of a financial fund that supports political prisoners and their family members. A similar stance was taken about the arrest of another arrested opposition figure, Iurii Orlov. Orlov heads an unofficial Soviet group, which monitors the execution in the USSR of the human rights clauses of the Helsinki accord. – President Carter assures Sakharov of his support in a letter. “The American people and our government will continue our firm commitment to promote respect for human rights not only in our own country but also abroad. We shall use our good offices to seek the release of prisoners of conscience...” Carter’s letter was a response to the letter Sakharov addressed to him. According to the State Department the question of human rights does not involve those areas of the Soviet-American relationship, where the interests of the two countries coincide.® July 12, 1978. – Soviet-American accord on the shipment of US grain to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union pays damages to the US for violating the 1972 agreement by shipping only 23% of the purchased grain in ships sailing under US flag instead of the one third stipulated by the agreement. The USSR undertook to ship one third of the grain bought from the US in American vessels.

February 8. President Carter recommends an agreement with the USSR on strategic arms limitation in such a way that they would return to the unresolved issues. He also recommended that the two countries freeze the development of mobile ICBMs and a decision on a complete ban on nuclear testing.

March 20. CIA President Stansfield Turner declares on CBS television: the US-Soviet military balance tilted in favor of the Russians.

March 21. Brezhnev attacks Carter’s manifestations about Soviet dissidents. In a speech given at the Moscow congress of trade union deputies he condemned what he called the interference of official American organs in Soviet domestic affairs and warns: in such circumstances the normal development of relations is impossible.

March 30. After three days of negotiations the US and the Soviet Union come to an agreement on the SALT treaty. Secretary of State Vance offered to Brezhnev the reduction of the 2400 limit for delivery vehicles established in Vladivostok and recommended a moratorium on testing new weapon systems. An alternative proposal would have allowed the retention of the 2400 level but would have left the question of Backfire bombers and cruise rockets unresolved. According to the Soviet position Backfire bombers are medium range, therefore they do not fall under the Vladivostok agreement.

May 30. Romania signs a two billion dollar coal agreement with the US firm, Occidental Petroleum.

June 9. According to a NATO announcement the Soviet Union proceeded to deploy its new intermediate range, mobile missiles codenamed SS 20.

June 20.-22. Brezhnev’s visit to Paris. The first secretary of the CPSU has talks with Giscard d’Estaing and emphasized the importance of détente. Brezhnev voiced his concern that France increased cooperation with NATO. According to the French President détente requires the moderation of ideological competition, respect for human rights, non-interference in domestic affairs and the world-wide expansion of détente. Giscard d’Estaing fails to support Brezhnev’s call for a world disarmament conference saying that first the US and the USSR must take steps for disarmament.

June 23. The US Department of Commerce announces that it will not authorize Control Data Corporation to sell the Soviet Union the license of a computer system it developed. According to the Department the system offered for sale has a larger capacity than any known Soviet system, therefore it could well be used for strategic or military purposes.

June 30. President Carter says at a news conference that although human rights are a central issue for US foreign policy, there is no link between it and the SALT talks. He declares that he would like to meet Brezhnev this year.

July 5. Brezhnev’s discussion with the US ambassador in Moscow. According to the TASS news agency the Soviet leader criticized those elements of US politics which are not in harmony with the constructive development of relations.

August 3. Georgii Arbatov accuses Carter that his policy caused the deterioration of US-Soviet relations. Arbatov charged Washington with intervention in Soviet home affairs and questioned US sincerity about the SALT talks in light of the fact that the US made the decision to deploy cruise missiles and the production of the neutron bomb.® December 15, 1977.

September 2. The London Institute for Strategic Studies reports that the Warsaw Pact has 103 divisions as opposed to NATO’s 64 (plus 10 French). The USSR has qualitative and quantitative superiority in SAMs, armored vehicles and artillery. The units of the Warsaw Pact have unified weapons systems, while significant part of the NATO weapon systems are not compatible. The Institute believes that the USSR is modernizing its nuclear strategic force at a much larger pace than the US. Although Washington enjoys a numerical superiority in warheads, the Russian weapons have higher explosive power, although their ability to hit targets is less accurate.

September 12.-14. Edward Gierek visits Paris.

September 28.-October 4. Yugoslav politician Edvard Kardelj’s visit in the US, where he meets President Carter and Vice-President Mondale. At the end of his visit Kardelj announces that Yugoslav-American relations improved a great deal and “the US has an interest in accepting Yugoslavia as it is”. According to Kardelj Washington accepts Belgrade’s non-aligned policy as the mirror of Yugoslav politics and no longer views it as simply a pro-Soviet movement.® October 13, 1977.

October 4. In a speech given in the UN Carter declares that in the nuclear age the notion that war is the continuation of politics with other means has become obsolete. Nuclear war can no longer be measured with the archaic concepts “victory” and “defeat”. This cold reality lays a terrible responsibility on the US and the Soviet Union. The US is willing to go as far in reducing nuclear arms as possible without putting national security at risk. The US is “willing now”, on a reciprocal basis to reduce its nuclear arsenal by “10%, 20%, even 50%”. The US would “not use nuclear weapons except in self-defense; that is in circumstances of an actual nuclear or conventional attack on the United States, our territories or armed forces, or such an attack on our allies”.

October 13. Yugoslav-American agreement on broadening military cooperation. Defense secretary Brown announces that his government will increase arms sales to Yugoslavia, more Yugoslav officers will be trained and the contact between the officer corps of the two countries will be broadened. The discussions took place in Belgrade. This was the first time an American defense secretary visited a communist state.

December 14. The US department of justice announces that it raises the immigration quota of Soviet Jews, thus till May 1978 five thousand may go to the US.

December 15. The Central European conventional arms reduction talks are postponed. NATO offers to withdraw one thousand warheads and 29 thousand soldiers from Europe if the USSR pulls out five divisions (55-75 thousand troops) and 1500-1700 tanks. The US signaled that it would refrain from deploying neutron bombs and cruise rockets if the Warsaw Pact pulls out more troops than NATO proposes. The Warsaw Pact turns down the proposal since it insists on equal troop reduction.

January 6. In Budapest Secretary of State Cyrus Vance hands over the Holy Crown and the crown jewels to Hungary. A part of the Hungarian community in the US accuses Carter of supporting the communist dictatorship. Several members of the US Congress tried to stop the return of the Holy Crown with legal means.

January 23. Brezhnev’s letter to the heads of government of the NATO states in which he warns them not to deploy the neutron bomb.

February 2. Secretary of Defense Brown opines that in the forthcoming 5 years the US will need to raise its military expenditure by 50 billion dollars so as to maintain the military balance with the USSR. According to Brown the Soviets have been arming steadily for a long time. They proceeded to test a new generation of strategic missiles; they are coming close to conclude the development of a new long-range bomber; the Soviets are equipping their submarines with better missiles. – According to Brown the Soviet system of civil defense is wider than previously believed. Bomb-shelters are at the disposal of political leaders in the cities and the countryside. In the past five years great emphasis was laid on providing key personnel, thus important industrial workers with shelters. – In the US a new, mobile MX type ICBM of larger targeting precision is under development, as well as warheads of higher explosive yield for the Minute missiles; the Trident SLBM program was launched as well. The secretary claims that the US would find it harder to deal with a conventional attack, “the threat of a nuclear strike is unable to deter a hostile act effectively”. – Brown hints that the US might need to compete in the space arms race as well since the Soviets have several space weapons program.

March 21. At the congress of Soviet trade unions Brezhnev accuses the US that certain official American circles want to interfere directly in Soviet domestic affairs. He adds that the Soviet Union will not tolerate anyone interfering in its domestic affairs, under no pretext. Brezhnev referred to the question of human rights of which Gromyko says at a press conference that it poisons the political climate and does not help the question of strategic arms limitation and only makes the situation worse.

March 22. The joint resolution of the Congress reproaches the USSR that Jews and other minorities that want to emigrate because of family unification are harassed and obstructed.

March 29. According to US figures in 1977 Soviet-American trade diminished by 26.5% compared to 1976 that is from 2.5 billion to 1.86 billion dollars. Export to the USSR went down, while the Soviets increased their own export to the US.

April 7. Carter announces that the production of neutron bombs will be postponed. (The neutron bomb was meant to offset the Soviet Union’s superiority in conventional forces in Central Europe). According to experts arguing for the neutron bomb the explosive power of these weapons is smaller than that of the tactical nuclear warheads therefore the probability of it being used is higher, which augments its deterring power. – Its opponents claim that this advantage is at the same time a disadvantage: the probability of use is higher, which lowers the nuclear threshold. They also point to the inhuman nature of the N bomb: it is highly dangerous to humans and life in general, while less destructive of the physical surroundings.

April 12.-13. Talks between President Jimmy Carter and Romanian party first secretary Nicolae Ceausescu in the White House. Carter praises the US-Romanian “common beliefs” such as “strong national sovereignty” and “preserving the independence of our nations”. Carter praised Ceausescu’s mediation in the Middle East conflict. The two leaders agree on the expansion of commercial relations, which at the time reached 500 million dollars. In their joint declaration the two leaders call for “observance and promotion respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms” and support for “the right of each state freely to choose and develop its political, social, economic and cultural systems”.® June 13.-16, 1978.

April 22.-23. Secretary of State Vance’s talks with Brezhnev and Gromyko in Moscow. Progress is made in the resolution of differences on SALT II issues.

May 28. Poland signs a one billion dollar 20 year deal with Occidental Petroleum Corporation.

May 31. The NATO states accept a 10-15 year general defense program. The long-range program envisions the development of combat readiness, logistics, the mobilization of reserves, NATO’s navy, air defense systems, the joint production of arms and joint planning. – According to a study prepared for NATO leaders, the Soviet Union accepts the principle of nuclear balance, but still wants superiority in tactical nuclear arms and conventional forces. The Soviet Union will face economic difficulties in the 80s, but will emphasize military development. At the same time because of the economic difficulties the Soviet leadership will be forced to seek Western help, or else to introduce restrictions. The report recommends that the West extend assistance to the Soviets only if they reduce military expenditures. It also recommends for the West to improve relations with Eastern Europe.

June 1. It is announced that bugs were found in the US embassy in Moscow therefore on May 26 a verbal, on May 31 a written protest was made. The Soviet news agency, TASS claims that the devices meant to impede US spying. The US claims that more bugging devices were found in the tunnel that connects the chimney with an apartment in the neighboring building.

June 7. Carter delivers the harshest speech on the Soviet Union of his presidency at the Annapolis Naval Academy. Carter says that the SALT treaty is “of fundamental importance” to both nations,” and “I am glad to report to you today that prospects…for agreement are good”. He assures the audience that the US has “no desire to link the negotiations for a SALT agreement with other competitive relationships nor to impose other special conditions on the process”. At the same time he warns that US public opinion influences the talks and “tensions, sharp disputes or threats to peace will complicate the quest for a successful agreement”. “The Soviet Union can choose either confrontation or cooperation. The US is adequately prepared to meet either choice.” The President asserts that détente “is central for world peace,” and “must be broadly defined and truly reciprocal”. – The Soviet Union and its allies come up with a new proposal at the disarmament talks in Vienna. It could be a breakthrough that the USSR accepts the 700 thousand upper limit for the number of troops NATO and the Warsaw Pact may each station in Central Europe. NATO earlier recommended that when both sides would have an equal number of troops, they should be reduced equally. The West rescinded the demand for the Soviet Union to withdraw five divisions and 1700 tanks form Central Europe and accepted the Soviet wish that 2/3^rd of the forces to be pulled out by the US should come from the FRG. No agreement is made on the method of monitoring and the West does not accept the Soviet figures on the size of Warsaw Pact forces.

June 8.-16. Soviet-American talks on banning the so called killer satellites. Such satellites are able to search and destroy other satellites.

June 9. President Carter warns the USSR that he will retaliate if Moscow continues to discriminate against US naval insurance companies. He claims that the Soviets put an unreasonable burden on American trade by obliging the shippers to insure their cargo with Soviet insurance companies.

June 13.-16. Ceausescu’s visit in Great Britain. He is the first communist leader that arrived in England at a state invitation and lived in the Buckingham Palace as the Queen’s guest. As a result of the commercial talks one of the largest deals in the history of British aviation is signed. Great Britain and Romania sign a 360 million pound agreement on the production of jet aircraft.

June 17. Moscow’s response to Carter’s speech. In the text that is published as a commentary in Pravda and other Soviet papers Carter’s statements are “so preconceived and distorted a description of Soviet realities as one has not encountered…since the time of the Cold War”. The US is worried by Soviet military equality and not superiority. The article also attacked the President’s human rights policy, but the “positive remarks” of Carter’s speech were not “left unnoticed” either.

July 9. It is announced that Hungary is granted the most favored nation treatment by the US. In his interview to the New York Times János Kádár says that cooperation with the West and the United States is part of Hungary’s independent foreign policy.

July 12. The US condemns the USSR for the verdict on Anatolii Sharanskii and Alexander Ginzburg. In retaliation the US cancels the visit of two delegations in the Soviet Union and prohibits the sale of a computer to TASS. The sale of oil drilling equipment is placed under state supervision. (Earlier on an American company received a 180 million dollar order for such equipment from the USSR).® April 27, 1979.

July 19. The CIA’s study on Soviet civilian defense: more than 100 thousand people work full time in the field of Soviet civilian defense. According to the study in case of a nuclear attack more than 100 million Soviet civilians would die if it came unexpectedly. In the “best case,” – if there were a week’s time to make arrangements for the evacuation and defense of the civilian population – the number of the victims would be less than ten million. The authors assumed that the attack would be made against Soviet military bases and industrial targets not against the civilian population. The Soviet Union could not avoid its industry suffering significant damage. The existing shelters could accommodate 12-14% of the workers of the industrial centers of key importance. 10-20% of the urban population could receive protection against the atomic strike. In 1976 the Soviets spent 2 billion dollars on civilian defense.

August 8. The first Hungarian plant of Levis Strauss starts the production of jeans in the town of Marcali. The factory was equipped with machinery and raw materials by the Levis Strauss company. The plant exports 60% of the produce.

August 16. American genetics call for the boycott of the first world congress of genetics to be held in the USSR. The scientists mean to protests against the imprisonment of their Soviet colleagues. The Academy of Sciences of the US does not support the boycott.

August 22. The president of Occidental Petroleum, Armand Hammer opens a new ammonia storage factory in Odessa. The installation was built as part of a 20 year 20 billion dollar artificial fertilizer project. Hammer says that the facility crowned Occidental’s links with the USSR.

September. The London Institute for Strategic Studies on East-West military balance: the USSR has 5609, the US 3600 ICBMs. The Soviet Union possesses more warheads whose explosive yield can be expressed in megatons (1670) than its adversary (504). At the same time the US enjoys superiority in the number of warheads and American missiles are more accurate. – According to a report by the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency the US nuclear force is more effective than the Soviet, although their nuclear power approached the American and may even catch up with it in the mid-80s. The study claims that both sides have credible second strike capability.

September 28. The Department of Defense announces that Washington is selling jet aircraft engines for fighters under development in Yugoslavia.

November 15.-17. János Kádár’s visit in Paris.

November 25. Romania rejects the USSR’s request to increase the military budget. According to Nicolae Ceausescu it would be a mistake to increase military expenditures and arm intensively. According to the Romanian leader an increase of defense spending would put a great strain on Romania.® December 9, 1978. Vance on Soviet-American relations: “In the past year there were difficulties”; he hopes things are stabilized. “Relations are now going uphill and there may be progress”.

December 4.-7. An American business delegation of 400 negotiates in Moscow on the future of Soviet-American trade. The delegation was led by the secretaries of finance and commerce. This is the first time American secretaries went to Moscow since Carter in protest against the measures against Soviet dissidents called a ban on high level bilateral talks.

December 9. The Bucharest visit of the US secretary of treasury. The visit was organized in great haste and according to observers it is an American gesture for Romania's rebuff for the increase of military spending. The communiqué mentioned the improvement of Romanian-US relations and praised “Romania’s constructive role and independent policy on many international problems”.

December 23. SALT pact completion is delayed, but the USSR agreed not to encode the data of its missile experiments so that the US could monitor compliance with the treaty. Agreement is made on MIRVs: ICBMs would be allowed 10, SLBMs 14 warheads. The US made smaller concessions in the field of cruise missiles and preliminary agreement was made that the Soviet bomber Backfire would be exempted from SALT limitations.® May 9, 1979.

January. The American President requests Congress to raise military spending by 9.7%, from 111.9 billion dollars to 122.7 billion dollars for the 1980 financial year. Carter made the decision because of the growth of Soviet military strength.

March 1. 2400 American scientists decide to break their relations with their Soviet colleagues. This is their way of protesting against the imprisonment of the physicist Iurii Orlov and Anatolii Sharanskii.

March 6. According to the data of the US embassy in Moscow Soviet-American trade reached 2.8 billion dollars in 1978. This is the highest value ever. The US trade balance showed a surplus of 1.72 billion dollars with the USSR. – The US delivered 1.7 billion dollars worth of grain and 562.5 million dollars worth of industrial goods to the other superpower. The US imported 540 million dollars worth of commodities, half of which was gold. – According to the report of the UN Economic Committee the Soviet Union and the East European countries owe 47 billion dollars to the West. According to a West German report this may reach 57 billion.

April 30. It is reported that Hungary wants to borrow 300 million dollars from American banks. This would be the first time since the war that Hungary entered the American capital market.

April 23. The Soviet Union deploys new tactical missiles on the territory of the GDR. – April 25. NATO ministers of defense claim that its short and medium range missiles in Europe ought to be modernized, since there is no nuclear missile in Western Europe that is capable of reaching the Soviet Union.

April 27. The US exchanges two imprisoned Soviet spies for five incarcerated Soviet dissidents. They include Alexander Ginzburg.

May 9. The draft of the SALT II treaty is ready. The treaty is comprised of two parts: an agreement valid till 1985 and a protocol that is in force till 1981. The parties may retain 2400 delivery vehicles each (ICBMs, SLBMs, and strategic bombers). By 1981 this figure must be reduced to 2250. Each side may keep 1320 MIRVs and strategic bombers carrying 600 km range cruise missiles. Plus the signatories are allowed a maximum of 1200 multiple warhead vehicles. ICBMs may carry 10, the SLBMs are allowed 14 warheads at the maximum. The strategic bombers are allowed an average of 28 cruise missiles each. Both sides may develop one new missile. According to the three year protocol mobile ICBMs cannot be deployed.® June 18, 1979.

June 8. Carter permits the development of MX type mobile ICBMs. The weapon system is comprised of 200 missiles, each would have 10 warheads of 335 kilotons. The missiles would be kept constantly in motion on a track system and a series of hard launch sites would be built for them. (According to military leaders the new mobile system increases security if the USSR has something similar. Since the strike force is hard to eliminate because of the hard launch sites and the mobility, a credible counterforce capability would remain after the first strike. Hence the principle of MAD is observed, thereby increasing security).

June 18. In Vienna President Carter and the first secretary of the CPSU, Brezhnev sign the SALT II treaty. Brezhnev’s comment: “By signing we protect the holiest right of each person: the right to live”. The sharpest critique comes from Senator Jackson, who compared it to the appeasement of the 30s. NATO’s commander-in-chief, Alexander Haig recommends that signing should be postponed and the “mistakes” corrected. Haig thinks that the treaty will lead to Soviet superiority if the US fails to improve military readiness. A similar view is put forward by JCS chairman David Jones.

October 3. The US department of agriculture approves the sale of 25 million tons of maize to the USSR. This is the most wheat the Soviets ever bought from the US.

October 6. Brezhnev announces that in order to commemorate the 30^th anniversary of the GDR he is pulling out 20 thousand Soviet soldiers and one thousand tanks from the GDR. According to Western estimates there are seven thousand tanks and 383 thousand Soviet soldiers on the territory of the East German state. Brezhnev announced: the USSR will reduce its intermediate range nuclear missiles if no more such weapons are deployed in Western Europe. He promised that Moscow will not use atomic weapons against a country where no such weapon is produced or deployed. According to the first secretary if the Americans were to deploy new rockets in Europe the strategic balance would be upset. – Carter turns down Brezhnev’s proposal and points out that the Soviets changed their SS-4 and SS-5 missiles to new SS-20 type intermediate range rockets. There are three warheads on each missile while the older ones only had one. The new missiles are more accurate and can be fired from mobile launchers, the President says.

December 12. The NATO states (with the exception of France) decide on the deployment in Europe of 572 American intermediate range missiles. According to the plan until 1983 108 Pershing-II and 464 ground based robot planes will be deployed in Great Britain, the FRG, Belgium, Italy and Holland. (The Dutch government makes its final decision in 1981.) – The decision is motivated by the fact that the Soviet Union’s new intermediate range missiles brought a qualitative change in the continental balance. In Western view the new Soviet rocket questions the doctrine of graduated response. According to the doctrine a potential Soviet strike with intermediate missiles is deterred by NATO’s similar weapons. Since the Soviet SS-20s are more advanced than their American counterparts, NATO would be obliged to use the US strategic force that is a limited nuclear war would escalate into a nuclear world war. In order to avoid this the Western level corresponding to the SS-20s has to be strengthened. – Brezhnev decided on the deployment of the new missiles at the advice of the army. The Soviet military leadership thought that this is the quickest way to catch up with the West in the military sense.® March 16, 1982.

December 14. The US Control Data Corporation buys 30 Soviet licenses in the field of energy technology.

December 27. The USSR attacks Afghanistan and overthrows the government of Hafizullah Amin. According to the official Soviet version Babrak Karmal, who replaced Hafizullah Amin invited the Soviet Union to provide “political, economic, moral and military support”. The US condemns the intervention® January 4, 1980; February 22, 1980.

January 4. Carter announces measures directed against the USSR: they will not deliver the wheat ordered by the Soviet Union; they suspend the sale of high-tech products; they severely limit the Soviets’ fishing rights on American waters; they will not open new consular facilities. According to Californian governor Reagan the introduction of the wheat embargo was a mistake.

February 4. Brezhnev reports that the Soviet Union does not want to give up the results achieved in international relations during the 70s.

February 20. According to the figures of the US embassy in Moscow Soviet-American trade in 1979 exceeded even the peak year of 1978 and reached 4.48 billion dollars. The US had a 2.73 billion dollar trade surplus with the USSR. – The Pan Am airline and Citibank close their offices in Moscow. – The US visa is denied of two Soviets scientists. The Soviet experts wished to attend a conference on computer technology. The visa is denied so that the Soviets should be unable to acquire American technology.

February 22. Because of the crisis in Afghanistan the number of Soviet diplomats in the US is restricted to 320.

March 21. Carter announces that he unalterably decided not to send the US team to the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.® May 7, 1984.

May 4. The death of Yugoslav leader Iosip Broz Tito. President Carter’s message: Tito was a “towering figure on the world stage…President Tito’s position in the history of his era is assured for all times”. Carter did not attend the funeral.

June 24. Carter’s visit to Belgrade: “I have come to Belgrade to assure you of the friendship and support of the United States…We stand ready to work closely with you to ensure the continued development of an independent Yugoslavia.”

July. From the election platform of the Republican Party: “For three and a half years the Carter administration has been without a coherent strategic concept to guide foreign policy oblivious to the scope and magnitude of the threat posed to our security, and devoid of competence to provide leadership and direction to the free world. The administration’s conduct of foreign policy has undermined our friends abroad, led and our most dangerous adversaries to miscalculate the willingness of the American people to resist aggression. Republicans support a policy of peace through strength; weakness provokes aggression…The evidence of the Soviet threat to American security has never been more stark and unambiguous, nor has any President ever been more oblivious to this threat and its potential consequences.”

August 5. It is announced that in his Directive number 59 President Carter ordered the implementation of a new nuclear strategy. Accordingly, the US will put priority on atomic strikes against military targets, while earlier the emphasis was on industrial and urban centers. According to Brzezinski and Brown the Soviets discard the principle of MAD and believe that a nuclear war can be won. – According to TASS the new American nuclear policy is “madness” and was worked out by people that lost all contact with the world and are ready to drive the world into nuclear conflict. According to the Soviet evaluation the new doctrine gives up the principle of MAD.

August 14. Workers’ strikes of huge scale begin in Poland. Members of the opposition are arrested in response. – August 21. The State Department expresses hope that the arrested persons will soon be released. Polish-American leaders criticize the Carter administration’s mild response. Polish and East European groups express that they are “greatly disappointed by the passive and limited response of the State Department” to the struggle of Polish workers.® August 29, 1980; November 30, 1980; December 3, 1980. January 23.

August 20. According to Secretary of Defense Brown the USA’s one thousand Minuteman ICBMs probably became vulnerable to a Soviet first strike. According to the secretary the Soviets will be able to destroy a part of the Minuteman missiles in a year.

August 22. Poland receives 325 million dollars in aid from Western banks.

August 29. Carter urges Western help to Poland. US trade unions send money to the Polish trade union although Secretary of State Muskie warned that the Soviet Union probably deliberately misinterprets the aid.

September 7. Muskie announces that the US is ready for the technical preparatory talks of Soviet-American negotiations on the limitation of intermediate nuclear missiles. Muskie’s announcement is a response to Brezhnev’s letter to Western heads governments in which the Soviet leader complained that the West did not react to Soviet initiatives for the reduction of nuclear missiles in Europe. Muskie expresses his sentiment that the Senate will ratify the SALT treaty even if the USSR fails to withdraw from Afghanistan.

September 19. The US protests against a 300 million dollar contract the French Schneider Creusot company signed with the Soviet Union for the construction of a steel plant in the USSR. In US view the contract violates the commercial sanctions in force against the Soviets.

October 14. Brezhnev invites the US for bilateral talks before “its too late”. He made the statement to Armand Hammer, who Brezhnev informed that he was willing to do anything short of accepting US military superiority to improve Soviet-American relations.

November 11. The Madrid sequel of the Helsinki conference opens.

November 30. TASS on the Polish events: “Internal and external hostile forces” want to transform Poland’s inner problems into “a counter-revolution in one of the socialist states” and “the aggressive circles of imperialism” were seeking to “restore lost positions with the policy of blackmail”.

December 3. President Carter announces that he is “watching with growing concern the unprecedented buildup of Soviet forces along the Polish border”. He warns: “The attitude and future policies of the United States toward the Soviet Union would be directly and very adversely affected by any Soviet use of force in Poland.”? December 9, 1980; December 12, 1980. January 24.

December 5. The Warsaw summit of the Warsaw Pact. The special meeting is convened to discuss the Polish developments. According to the communiqué issued after the meeting the seven states are confident that Poland will be able to resolve its difficulties. They renounced the threat of and use of force, but declared that Poland will remain a socialist state and can count on the fraternal solidarity and support of the Warsaw Pact. – Pravda publishes an article on the “lessons” of the 1968 Czechoslovak crisis and warns: the “revisionist and nationalist” members of the Czechoslovak leadership became “the Trojan horses of imperialist reaction”.? April 7, 1981.

December 9. The US orders four AWACS planes to observe troop movements in Eastern Europe. High ranking military commanders of NATO asked for the use of AWACS for fear of an air strike on Western Europe after the Warsaw Pact maneuvers in Poland. Two days earlier US officials declared that there was no proof of a Soviet decision to intervene in Poland, but the preparations for a possible intervention in Poland have been concluded.

December 12. At their meeting in Brussels the foreign ministers of NATO inform the Soviet Union: an intervention in Poland would mean the end of détente. If the Soviets decide to intervene the NATO countries will react according to the gravity of the development. The allies deliberate on the implementation of economic sanctions in case of Soviet military involvement; they would contemplate halting the flow of credit to Poland and the USSR, the termination of the multi-billion dollar industrial cooperation, the closing of diplomatic missions, breaking off disarmament talks, the reduction of cultural relations, etc.

January 14. From Carter’s farewell address: “The risk of nuclear conflagration has not lessened. It has not yet happened but this can give us little comfort – for it only has to happen once. The danger is becoming greater.” The commander-in-chief of the Warsaw Pact forces, Marshall Victor Kulikov visits Warsaw where he has talks with Polish party and military leaders.

February 19. The Soviet Union gives Poland a moratorium for the repayment of its debts. The moratorium defers the repayment of loans borrowed between 1976 and 1980 until 1985. Western sources claim that the moratorium includes a 1.1 billion dollar loan announced in 1980. Observers think that the aim of the moratorium was to stop Poland from having to default on its Western debts. – The US gives Poland a four month moratorium for the repayment of an 88 million dollar loan. According to President Ronald Reagan this is a temporary measure. At the same time there is no decision on a three billion dollar Polish request that was put forward to the Carter administration.

February 21. The Reagan administration declares that Western Europe cannot count on increased American presence in Europe if the European allies do not raise their own military spending. Assistant secretary of defense Carlucci warns Europeans to recognize their own responsibilities. “Europe is no longer shattered, impoverished and disunited. Indeed, Western Europe’s total gross national product exceeds that of the US,” Carlucci says. “The US cannot be expected to improve and strengthen US forces in Europe unless other allies increase their contributions to the combined defense effort”. NATO general secretary Luns declares that détente diminished Western will to maintain an effective system of defense and reduced NATO’s inner cohesion.

February 23. Brezhnev offers a summit to Ronald Reagan in order to restore bilateral relations and to find solutions for the “acute” issues of international relations. Brezhnev claims that the international situation depends to a large extent on the policies of the US and the Soviet Union. For this reason an active dialogue is needed between the two superpowers on all levels to reduce tension. – February 24. Reagan expresses that he is “most interested” in Brezhnev’s proposal but indicates that several conditions first have to be met.

March 4. Polish communist party general secretary Stanislaw Kania and prime minister Wojciech Jaruzelski’s talks in Moscow. From Soviet part the participants are Brezhnev, Gromyko, prime minister Tikhonov, defense minister Ustinov, Suslov and KGB chairman Andropov. The parties agree that “urgent” steps are needed against the danger menacing “socialist Poland” and in that the Poles “have the strength and capabilities…to eliminate the dangers hanging over the socialist gains of the Polish people”. At the same time according to the communiqué the defense of socialism “is the cause not only of each state also but of the entire socialist community”. – March 10. The Warsaw Pact announces a military exercise on Polish territory. – Brezhnev calls for a summit once more, which repeated in letters to Western leaders. The Soviet leader proposed the renewal of arms reduction talks as well.

March 26. It is announced that the military exercise currently taking place on the territories of the GDR, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union will be extended by “a few days”. Two days earlier Solidarity announced a nationwide warning strike for the 27^th.® April 7, 1981. – Reagan warns the USSR: a military intervention, or any other measure “aimed at suppressing the Polish people” would have “a grave effect on the whole course of East-West relations”. The President held out the continuation of economic in case the crisis is resolved by negotiation. – March 27. Reagan announces that it would be too early to hold a summit. Yet, if this happens then “the whole matter of the imperialism of the Soviet Union, their expansionism” would be discussed”.

April 2. The US provides 70 million dollars of food aid to Poland. – April 4. Defense secretary Weinberger threatens the USSR that if it continues its aggressive activities the US will sell weapons to China. Weinberger holds out that the SALT II treaty will be taken off the agenda.

April 7. Brezhnev announces: The Polish communists, supported by all true patriots of Poland, will be able, one should believe, to give the necessary rebuff to the enemies of the socialist system, who are also the enemies of independent Poland, and will be able to uphold the cause of socialism, the real interests of their people and the honor of their country”. – The Warsaw Pact’s military exercise, which was prolonged several times, comes to an end. – April 8. According to Brezhnev Poland is able to solve its own problems without the assistance of the Warsaw Pact.

April 9. Weinberger does not think that the danger of Soviet intervention in Poland is over. He opines that the policy of détente helped reinforce “the Soviet prison wall that stretches from the Balkans to the Baltics”. The secretary says that the “wall” which is used to keep the captive nations inside Eastern Europe is evidence of “the moral and political failure of Soviet communism”. – April 11. According to US secretary of state Alexander Haig the Reagan administration’s fears of a Soviet military intervention in Poland diminished. Referring to Brezhnev’s speech on the 8^th of April he voiced his relief at the “great self-moderation” expressed by the Soviet leader. – April 14. Weinberger repeats his earlier position that arms reduction talks can take place only if the Soviet military presence around Poland is reduced. The next day the State Department announces that it is the Reagan administration’s “firm intention to proceed with the discussions that will lead to negotiations with the Soviets” on nuclear weapons reductions in Europe.

April 26. President Reagan terminates the wheat embargo against the Soviet Union. Because of the embargo that was in force for 15 months the Soviets received only 8 million tons of the 25 million that was contracted in 1976. Reagan once more permits the sale of soy, phosphates, meat and other non-cereals as well. The restrictions on the sale of advanced technology and Soviet fishing on American waters remains in force.

March 4. Haig announces that he is willing to start talks with the Soviet Union on the reduction of intermediate range missiles in Europe. – May 13. The NATO states announce that they will raise their spending on conventional forces. According to NATO leaders the allies put too much emphasis on nuclear deterrence and if the present trend continues in five years the deterring power of conventional forces will disappear.

June 5. The Soviet Union’s letter to the Central Committee of the Polish United Party, which criticizes the work of the Political Committee. The letter, written in a harsh tone, personally mentions Kania and Jaruzelski. For this reason the special meeting of the Central Committee is convened. According to the letter while both politicians pledged to control the situation and “expressed agreement with our point of view, nothing changed.” The ineffectiveness of the present leadership manifests itself in that the party’s “policy of concession and compromise has not been corrected”. The Polish United Party lost its control over the media, which was “seized by the enemy” and “the fight for the party would not be won as long as the press, radio and television were working not for the Polish party, but for its enemies”. The letter talks about the “common security” of the two states and claims that the Polish hostile forces threaten “the interests of our entire commonwealth”. Without the protection of the community Poland “would fall into the greedy hands of imperialism”.

June 11. The US accuses the Soviet Union of interfering in the domestic affairs of Poland. The declaration was published by the State Department in response to the June 5 letter of the Soviet leadership to the Polish Central Committee. The document condemned the threatening tone of the Soviet letter, deeming it contrary to international norms.

July 28. The US department of agriculture grants a 55 million dollar loan to Poland to buy maize so as to be able to save its poultry industry. The Catholic Relief Agency is permitted by the Reagan administration to purchase cheap American food and send it to Poland.

July 31. The Soviet Union protests against the resolution made by the US congress the previous day, which warns that the US cannot remain indifferent vis-á-vis an external aggression or domestic oppression of the Polish people.

August 8. The talks of Marshal Victor Kulikov. This is the Warsaw Pact commander-in-chief’s fourth visit in Poland since 1981.

August 10. Weinberger announces that the production of the neutron bomb is being started. The plan envisions the production of 380 Lance missiles equipped with nuclear warheads and cca. 800 neutron artillery shells. The weapons remain in the US until there is an agreement on their deployment in Europe or they are needed in a crisis.

August 11. Haig’s speech on foreign policy: “self-restraint and mutuality” is expected of the Soviet Union. “The economies of Moscow’s East European allies are in various phases of decline…The Soviet economy itself may have lost its capacity for the high growth it enjoyed in the past. Ambitious foreign and defense policies are therefore becoming more of a burden. Perhaps, more seriously, as events in Poland have demonstrated, the Soviet ideology and economic model are widely regarded as outmoded.”

August 14. Haig announces that the US does not exclude the so called “zero option” meaning that the US would not deploy its new intermediate range missiles if Moscow renounces the SS-20s.

August 15. Polish leaders meet Brezhnev in the Crimea. The Soviet Union promises that Poland may postpone the repayment of its 4.5 billion dollar debt to the Soviet Union till 1986 and they will deliver more raw materials for the Polish light industry. Kania and Jaruzelski emphasize that they will “fight imperialist danger”.

September 8. NATO air and naval exercise begins, which extends to the Baltic-sea, where the Soviet Union is also conducting a military exercise.

September 18. Soviet letter to the Polish leadership: the Central Committee of the CPSU demands that “the leadership of the Polish United Workers Party and the Polish government immediately take decisive and radical steps to terminate malevolent anti-Soviet propaganda”. - The US protests against the letter.

September 24. It is announced that Soviet-American talks will begin in Geneva on intermediate range rockets. Earlier Reagan sent a note to Brezhnev in which he expressed his anxiety because of the “unremitting and comprehensive military buildup over the past fifteen years, a buildup far exceeding Soviet defensive needs and one which carries disturbing implications of a search on the part of the Soviet Union for military superiority” and because “the Soviet Union’s pursuit of unilateral advantages in various parts of the world”. Reagan tells Brezhnev that the Polish crisis “can only be dealt with by the Polish people themselves”, adding that “any other approach would have serious consequences for all of us”. At the same time the President points out that “the US is fully prepared to take into account legitimate Soviet interests if the Soviets are willing to do the same with ours”.

September 29. The US Department of Defense publishes a volume entitled Soviet Military Power to prove that the Soviet military machinery’s appetite is insatiable. The book is meant for Western public opinion. According to the survey in the past eight years more than 3500 Soviet and Warsaw Pact tactical bombers and fighters were deployed in Eastern Europe, the Soviets produced 1000 fighters, twice as many as the US. The Soviet helicopter fleet is made up of 5000 units. The Soviet Union has 4.8 million troops, 180 divisions on various levels of readiness. This is 30 more than in 1967. There are 30 divisions in Eastern Europe, 80 in the Western part of the USSR, and 70 on the Chinese and other Asian borders. It has 150 Backfire bombers, which is going up by 30 a year. The Soviet Union’s strategic force is made up of 7000 warheads, which can be delivered by 1398 ICBMs, 950 SLBMs and 150 strategic bombers. The report claims that the Soviet Union spends 12-14% of its GNP on military expenditures, while the US spends only 7%. (The report fails to mention that the US GNP is twice the size of the Soviet).

October 2. Reagan announces that they will not deploy mobile missile silos for the MX ICBMs, instead they will receive stable super-hardened missile silos that can withstand atomic explosions. The B-1 strategic bomber project halted by Carter will be re-launched.

October 16. At a press conference Reagan explains that under certain conditions a limited nuclear war fought with tactical weapons is conceivable without escalation to total nuclear war. According to the President the Soviet Union “believes that a nuclear war is possible and they believe it is winnable”. – Brezhnev asserts that “the thoughts and efforts of the Soviet leadership just as of the Soviet people as a whole are directed at preventing nuclear war altogether, by eliminating the very danger of its outbreak”. Defense secretary Weinberger reassures the allies by saying that the US would not desert and risk its 375 thousand troops in Europe and their families. – Reagan asserts it is openly misleading to say that the US is even thinking about an atomic war at the expense of Western Europe. The basis of US nuclear strategy is that the aggressor cannot be certain that the nuclear war could be limited to Europe. Thus if Europe were attacked it would be taken as an attack on the US.

October 27. The US gifts 27 million dollars of dairy products to Poland, so as to help prepare the solution of its economic problems “peacefully and without foreign interference”.

November. Poland and Hungary file for IMF membership.

November 2. Brezhnev’s interview to Der Spiegel: the Soviet military doctrine is of defensive nature and excludes the possibility of first strike. The USSR strives for friendly relations with the US and wants to cooperate with it for peace, but if the US aims at military superiority, the Soviet people will do everything to assure the defense of the country. Simultaneously with the deployment of the SS-20s the Soviet Union pulled out some older missiles from its arsenal, although it is true that the SS-20s have three warheads. But their explosive power is smaller than that of the older ones. For this reason while changing the obsolete missiles the delivery vehicles at the Soviet Union’s disposal, says Brezhnev, diminished and at the same time its intermediate potential weakened. The USSR is ready to reduce its rockets and from the start of the talks to the end it announces a moratorium on the deployment of the missiles. – The Reagan administration claims that the Soviet Union has 600-650 intermediate range missiles against 108 Pershing-I missiles. The superiority is augmented by the fact that the Pershing-I-s have a single warhead, while the SS-20s have three.

November 18. Reagan’s four point proposal for disarmament: The US will not deploy its new intermediate missiles in Europe, if the USSR is ready to dismantle its own missiles of the same class. Washington proposes that talks should begin as soon as possible on the reduction of strategic rockets and bombers. The new talks should be called START (Strategic Arms Reduction Talks). The Soviet Union should reduce its conventional forces in Europe and a conference should be held on reducing the risk of war by surprise attack, insecurity or miscalculation. The President reassured the allies that with the exception of responding to an attack NATO will never use atomic or conventional arms in Europe.® June 29, 1982.

November 30. Soviet-American arms reduction talks begin in Geneva. Washington demands the dismantling of SS-4, SS-5 and SS-20 missiles, Moscow recommends a moratorium on deployment and as a sign of “goodwill” it is ready to reduce certain weapons. The US has no intermediate range missiles in Western Europe, instead it has a large number of tactical nuclear missiles.® February 9, 1982.

December 4. The US Senate appropriates a 204 billion dollar budget for military spending. This is the largest expenditure Congress ever passed.

December 13. A state of emergency and military legislation is introduced in Poland. A 21 member military council is established named National Salvation Council.® July 21, 1983. – December 17. Reagan declares that the Soviet Union is responsible for the state of emergency in Poland. While the state of emergency is in effect Poland may not receive US economic aid, but the humanitarian and food aid already being delivered will not be held back.

December 23. The US introduces sanctions against Poland: civilian air contacts are suspended, Polish fishing rights on American waters are rescinded, the Export-Import Bank will not guarantee loans, the delivery of American agricultural and dairy products is suspended while their distribution is not controlled by an independent organ.

December 29. Reagan announces sanctions against the Soviet Union. Aeroflot’s US flights are suspended, the US will not renew the expiring exchange programs, the activity of the Soviet Purchasing Committee in New York is suspended, the list of gas and oil industry equipment that need license is expanded, the issuing of these licenses is suspended. The licensing of the 200 pipe laying machines needed for the Soviet gas program is suspended, the export licenses for electronic appliances, computers and other high-tech goods are suspended, the talks concerning a new marine agreement and the restriction of Soviet ships is suspended, negotiations for a new long term grain agreement are postponed. The President holds out the prospect of other sanctions as well.® June 18, 1982.

January 26. Haig and Gromyko meet in Geneva. Haig declares that the talks are not directed at improving East-West relations, but for the US to express its concern first of all because of Poland.

February 5. Great Britain introduces economic sanctions against Poland and the USSR. London is the first European NATO state to impose sanctions.

February 9. The Soviet Union publishes its position on the Geneva arms reduction talks. The Soviet proposal assumes that there is a balance between the intermediate missiles deployed in Europe. The Soviets claim that both sides possess 1000 units, which could be reduced first to 600, later to 300 each. The agreement would involve all missiles in Europe with a range of 1000 kilometers. According to the Soviet proposal the British and French forces should be included in the agreement.

February 10. French banks extend a 140 million dollar loan to the Soviet Union so that it may purchase French equipment to construct the Siberian gas line.® July 22, 1981.

February 21. Reagan turns down Romania’s request for a 65 million dollar loan, since there are doubts about Bucharest’s ability to repay debts.

March 11. The USSR buys 100 thousand tons of US maize, which means that all in all Moscow bought over 13 million tons in 1981-82.

March 16. Moscow announces that it is suspending the European deployment of SS-20 missiles at the same time it held out reprisals in case NATO carries out the December 1979 decision. According to Reagan Brezhnev’s gesture is senseless because the missiles are able to reach Western Europe even from the Urals.® December 21, 1982.

March 17. A report prepared by the UN claims that Eastern Europe’s Western debt grew by 11% and reached 80.4 billion dollars. The growth can be attributed chiefly to the increase of Soviet debt, which reaches 19.5 billion dollars. Poland’s debt is 22.4 billion dollars. Eastern Europe’s Western export went down and save for the USSR its import as well. Eastern Europe’s trade deficit with the West fell to one billion dollars as compared to three billion in 1980 and five billion in 1979. At the same time the balance of payments deficit reached eight billion dollars. This is a result of the growth of interest payment.

April 6. Haig claims that if the US renounced the first use of nuclear weapons it would give a free hand to an aggression committed by conventional forces in Europe. As a result the West should maintain at least the same amount of conventional forces in Europe as the Soviets and their allies. – Its main creditors reschedule Poland’s debt service.® June 15, 1982.

April 17. Brezhnev offers a summit to Reagan. The call came in response to the President’s earlier proposal for the two leaders to meet informally at the UN disarmament conference.

April 22. The US calls on the major banks to continue lending to Yugoslavia. Deputy secretary of state Eagleburger argues that US policy must differentiate between communist countries. He urges that states like Hungary and Yugoslavia, which liberalized their economies, should receive a different treatment than the hard liners of the Soviet bloc.

April 27. According to Haig the US is facing a historic opportunity in its relations with the Soviet Union. There will be a change in the Soviet leadership and with the new generation of Soviet leaders the advantages of moderation will be felt.

May 5. The IMF admits Hungary as a member. Hungary – as the second East European country – is the organization’s 146^th member.

May 29. Secretary of defense Weinberger approves the Pentagon’s five year defense plan, which orders the armed forces to prepare for a series of counter strikes against the Soviet Union “over a protracted period”. The defense plan contains the working out of a nuclear strategy that will enable the US to “render ineffective the total Soviet (and Soviet-allied) military and political power structure” and would be able to maintain “through a protracted conflict period and afterward, the capability to inflict very high levels of damage” on Soviet industry. Regarding Eastern Europe the plan prescribes that “Where the use of conventional forces would be premature, inappropriate or infeasible, we must revitalize and enhance special-operations forces to project US power”. Special forces was a category that included guerrillas, saboteurs, commandos and other unconventional forces. The priorities of traditional war strategy: the protection of the US, Western Europe and the Persian Gulf’s oil reserves. The document emphasized the importance of space weapons. – June 3. Weinberger affirms that the administration accepted the strategy of protracted war, but emphasized: this does not mean that the US leadership believes in the possibility of winning such a war.

June 8. Reagan’s speech in the British parliament. The President calls for “a crusade for freedom” which make possible democratic development all around the world. According to Reagan “the march of freedom and democracy would leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of history…”. “Regimes planted by bayonets do not take root,” Reagan declares. “It was not the democracies that invaded Afghanistan and suppressed Polish Solidarity”. Reagan announces that he is willing to give Brezhnev an opportunity “to speak to the American people on our television if he will allow me the same opportunity with the Soviet people”.

June 9. Reagan’s speech in the West German parliament. He tells German peace activists, “I would be at the head of your parade if I believed marching alone could bring about a more secure world.” The President announces that the US is putting forward new proposals for the reduction of conventional forces. He will propose to the Warsaw Pact and NATO to reduce their armed forces to 900 thousand men. Out of this the size of the ground forces could be 700 thousand.

June 15. The USSR announces that it will not be the first to use nuclear weapons and this obligation enters force immediately. The USSR expects this undertaking from other nuclear powers as well, which would be tantamount to the banning of nuclear arms. - In his response Secretary of State Haig rejects Moscow’s proposal since it would be “tantamount to making Europe safe for conventional aggression.” “A pledge of no first use effectively leaves the West nothing with which to counterbalance the Soviet conventional advantages and geopolitical position in Europe.” According to the State Department’s spokesman the Soviet pledge is “unverifiable and unenforceable”. – Reagan announces that he expects “deeds, not words” from the Soviet Union”. The President accuses the USSR’s foreign policy of duplicity and lack of sincerity and opposed it to America’s devotion to arms reduction. He proposed the exchange of information between the two countries to avoid war because of misunderstanding. As a beginning he urges the advance announcement of major strategic exercises and ICBM tests and the publication of military expenditures. Reagan accuses the Soviet Union of violating the Yalta agreement by the “repression” of Eastern Europe, condemns Soviet interference in Eastern Europe and Afghanistan, accuses Moscow of violating the 1925 Geneva Convention on chemical weapons.

June 18. Reagan reinforces the ban on the Soviet export of American oil and gas equipment. From now on not even the foreign subsidiaries of US companies or foreign companies using American license may sell such equipment to the Soviet Union. The move is linked to martial law in Poland and the intention behind the US move is to “advance our objective of reconciliation in Poland”. General Electric Co. suffers the most from the embargo, since it gave licenses to three European companies to produce gas turbine compressors for the pipelines. Caterpillar Tractor Co. signed a contract for 200 pipe-laying bulldozers, which it cannot honor because of the embargo. The government estimates that American companies suffered a 1.2 billion dollar loss. Several representatives of congress criticized Reagan’s measures on the grounds that they are detrimental to US interests.® November 13, 1982. – The European allies of the US condemn Reagan’s measures. The subsidiary of a state owned French company expresses its readiness to perform a canceled contract. – Secretary of State Haig resigns partly because of the embargo. Reactions: French President Mitterand claims that Reagan’s step is “coercing, vexing, unfair and dangerous”. British prime minister Thatcher thinks “the question is whether one powerful nation can prevent existing contracts being fulfilled.”

June 29. Soviet-American START talks begin. The US delegation is led by retired General Edward L. Rowny, the Soviet by Victor P. Karpov.

June 22. French firms are instructed to honor their obligations concerning the Siberian gas line. The French minister of commerce declares: if the US wants to keep the embargo it should begin by not delivering 8 million tons of grain. – August 2. The British government instructs four British firms to fulfill the contracts on the Soviet gas pipes.

October 27. Brezhnev’s speech to commanders of Soviet armed forces: “The ruling circles of the United States have launched a political, ideological and economic offensive on socialism and have raised the intensity of their military preparations to an unprecedented level…They are dreaming of isolating politically and weakening economically the Soviet Union and its friends”. – Reagan suspends Poland’s most favored state status since the Warsaw government banned the trade unions.

November 10. The death of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev. His successor is Iurii V. Andropov. According to Reagan “Brezhnev was one of the world’s most important figures for nearly two decades. I look forward to conducting relations with the new leadership in the Soviet Union with the aim of expanding areas where our two nations can cooperate to mutual advantage.”

November 13. Reagan announces that he is lifting the sanctions against the companies that are selling American technology for the construction of the Siberian gas pipes. According to Reagan, the US and its allies reached an understanding that they will not sign commercial treaties, which contribute to the Soviet Union’s military or strategic superiority. They will not sign a new gas treaty with the USSR, and they observe the existing limitations on strategic export to the Soviet Union. They will work out means to control financial links with the USSR and to work out a coordinated policy concerning export loans. France announces that it is not part of Reagan’s allied agreement on East-West trade. – November 16.-18. The American-Soviet Economic Council’s meeting. Soviet minister of foreign trade Patolichev states that the US should once and for all renounce using trade as a weapon against the USSR.

December 21. Andropov’s proposal for arms reduction. He offers to reduce Moscow’s intermediate range missiles from 600 to 162, the same amount that Great Britain and France possess. In return NATO must renounce deploying its 572 missiles. Andropov repeats an earlier Soviet proposal on strategic arms reduction. Moscow would reduce its ICBMs and strategic bombers by 25%, to 1800 if the US reduced its own arsenal to the same level.® September 23, 1986. – The US, France and Great Britain reject the proposal. France declares that its own nuclear arsenal constitutes an independent deterrence.

January 6. The Warsaw Pact calls on NATO to sign a non-aggression treaty. The offer for the treaty envisions mutual obligation of the members of both alliances that they will not use conventional or nuclear forces that is they will not employ military force against one another.

January 18. Gromyko declares that the USSR will never be willing to accept the so called zero solution of the intermediate range nuclear missiles. Instead the foreign minister recommends a “real and honest” zero solution: the Soviet Union and NATO should destroy all their medium and short range missiles.

January 20. Reagan hints that the US is willing to negotiate not only on the basis of the zero solution. – Western governments and banks put together a financial salvation program for Yugoslavia.

January 31. Reagan offers a meeting to Andropov – at the time and place designated by the general secretary – in order “to ban US and Soviet intermediate-range land-based missile weapons from the face of the earth”. – February 1. Andropov turns down Reagan’s proposal and recommends the liquidation of all nuclear arms. A few days earlier Moscow recommended the creation of a nuclear-free zone in Central Europe.

March 8. Reagan calls the Soviet Union an “evil empire”. ”As good Marxist-Leninists, the Soviet leaders have openly and publicly declared that the only morality they recognize is that which will further their cause, which is world revolution…Lenin…said in 1920 that they repudiate all morality that proceeds from supernatural ideas or ideas that are outside class conceptions; morality is entirely subordinate to the interests of class war; and everything is moral that is necessary for the annihilation of the old exploiting social order…I intend to do everything I can to persuade them of our peaceful intent; to remind them that it was the West that refused to use its nuclear monopoly in the 40s and 50s for territorial gain and which now proposes 50% cuts in strategic ballistic missiles and the elimination of an entire class of land-based, intermediate range nuclear missiles…At the same time they must be made to understand that we will never compromise our principles and standards…I would agree to [nuclear] freeze if only we could freeze the Soviets’ global desires. A freeze at current levels of weapons would remove any incentive for the Soviets to negotiate seriously in Geneva…” – March 9. According to TASS Reagan’s speech shows that his administration “is able to think only in terms of confrontation and bellicose, lunatic anti-communism”.

March 23. Reagan’s televised speech calls for the development of military technology, which would render useless and superfluous nuclear missiles and would carry the potential to change human history. According to the program two ABM systems should be deployed, which would use laser-and particle beams. – March 24. The TASS commentary claims that such a system would directly violate the 1972 Soviet-American ABM treaty.

March 30. Reagan’s intermediate solution for the medium range missiles: the US reduces its missiles to be deployed in Europe if the Soviets do so with their own in Europe and Asia.

April 2. Gromyko rejects Reagan’s proposal since it does not take into account British and French missiles; it leaves out the American army’s nuclear bombers in Europe and on aircraft carriers and demands for the USSR to dismantle its rockets in Asia. Gromyko opines that NATO has a 50% superiority in medium range (INF) arms. According to the foreign minister on the basis of Reagan’s plan the US advantage would grow to 2.5 times. – April 6. Soviet defense minister Ustinov claims that with the deployment of INF missiles the US offers its NATO allies as the targets of reprisal and makes them hostages of nuclear strategy. If the NATO missiles attack the Soviet Union the counter strike would involve Western Europe and the US. – April 20. France announces that in the next five years it will reduce the number of its troops but will modernize its nuclear force.

April 20. Andropov calls for an international agreement for banning space weapons and against the extension of the arms race to outer space.® August 18, 1983.

May 3. Andropov’s new proposal for disarmament: the Soviet Union is willing to reduce to the aggregate British-French level the number of its warheads in Europe. – May 4. Reagan calls the Soviet proposal “encouraging” because it counts with the reduction of warheads. At the same time the State Department cannot accept that Moscow should have the same amount of missiles as the other countries put together. It also thinks that the Andropov offer is ambiguous which could also mean that that Moscow will reduce the number of its warheads if France and Great Britain do the same.

June 2. The NATO defense ministers reaffirm their earlier position: if there is no agreement till December at the Geneva talks the deployment of the US missiles may begin. – June 4. Weinberger claims that Soviet missile deployment in Eastern Europe started in 1979.

July 21. The state of emergency is lifted in Poland. – Reagan says that the US will study the situation in Poland before lifting the sanctions imposed because of the state of emergency.® August 3, 1984.

July 28. A five year Soviet-American grain agreement is signed. According to the agreement the USSR is obliged to buy at least nine million tons of grain, which is 50% more than the previous amount. Furthermore the Soviets are allowed to purchase 12 million tons of grain without special permit. After the signature of the agreement (August 25) the US secretary of agriculture condemned the previous administration for imposing a grain embargo on the USSR.

August 18. Andropov announces a unilateral moratorium on the deployment of anti-satellite weapons and urges the US to accept the ban of space weapons. Andropov proposes a Soviet-American agreement for the liquidation of existing ABM systems and a ban on the development of new ones.® July 21, 1984. – August 26 1984. Andropov declares that after the INF is signed he is willing to destroy all missiles to be dismantled by the USSR including a significant number of SS-20s.® November 23, 1983.

September 26. Reagan’s new initiative on INF missiles. The US is willing to reduce the number of its Pershing and cruise missiles to be deployed. – September 28. Andropov opines that the US is trying to buy time so as to be able to deploy its medium range missiles. According to the general secretary of the CPSU, the deployment gives maximal benefit to the US at the expense of Europe the Americans “are holding their European allies hostage”. – October 13. Marshal Kulikov declares that a new phase would begin in the arms race if the US deployed its European missiles. – October 14. The Sofia meeting of the foreign ministers of the Warsaw Pact urges the continuation of the Soviet-American talks in Geneva. – October 26. In his interview to Pravda Andropov declares that he is willing to reduce the number of SS-20s to 140 if the US rockets are not deployed. In terms of the warheads Moscow wants to have 420 as opposed to the French-British 300. At the same time Andropov warns that his country will quit the arms reduction talks if the Americans start deploying their rockets. Two days earlier the Soviet Ministry of Defense announced that preparations have begun for the deployment of tactical atomic weapons on Czechoslovakian and East German territory. – October 27. NATO announces that 1400 out of the 6000 US tactical warheads in Western Europe will be dismantled.

October 31.-November 1. Report by US and Soviet scientists on the consequences of a nuclear war. According to a group of American scientists at the exchange of 5000 megatons (out of the available 12000) 1.1 billion people would die right away, another would be mortally wounded. Because of the 90 thousand tons of dust that would get into the atmosphere the Earth’s temperature would plummet, nuclear winter would set in. Plants would be incapable of photosynthesis, the food chain would be destroyed. Radioactivity would be higher than it was assumed earlier and would reach 250 rad even a year after the war. A Soviet group reached similar conclusions.

November 23. The Soviet delegation unilaterally breaks off the Geneva disarmament talks. This happens one day after the FRG parliament approved the deployment of US missiles. The head of the Soviet delegation declares that “they are not continuing the talks and are not designating a new date to restart them”. Reagan’s comment: “I think they [the Soviets] will come back because I think that they must be aware, as much as we are, that there cannot and must not be a nuclear confrontation in Europe…”. (The Soviet move was not unexpected for the Americans and neither side believed that the danger of limited nuclear war was higher.) – November 24. Andropov announces reprisals in case the 572 American missiles are deployed: the moratorium for the deployment of SS-20s in Europe will be lifted; the schedule for the deployment of missiles in the GDR and Czechoslovakia will be lifted; similar Soviet systems will be deployed on the oceans and the seas.

December 15. At the close of the 31^st round of the Vienna arms reduction talks the Warsaw Pact states set no date for the further negotiations. A similar decision is made by the Soviets at the START talks.

January 17. The CSCE talks start in Stockholm. Secretary of State Schultz raises the case of Raoul Wallenberg in connection with human rights issues. [Wallenberg saved as many as 30 thousand Jews in Hungary in 1944-1945 and was arrested and taken to the Soviet Union by the NKVD in 1945, where he disappeared].® September 22, 1986.

January 29. Moscow accuses the US of violating the SALT II treaty. The Soviets claim that the Americans are constructing hardened silos for ICBMs and thereby they violate the SALT I treaty. This serves to camouflage the installation of missiles with MIRV-ed warheads, which in turn violates the SALT II treaty. The deployment of intermediate range missiles continues. Thereby they are increasing their strategic arsenal and are violating the SALT II treaty. The US did not ratify the SALT II treaty and thus failed to carry out its legal and political obligations.

February 9. The death of CPSU general secretary Iurii Andropov. He is succeeded by Constantine U. Chernenko. – March 2. In his election speech Chernenko calls on the US to continue the dialogue, the main obstacle of which is the deployment of the Pershing-II and the cruise missiles. The State Department welcomes Chernenko’s speech.

May 4. A Soviet-Polish economic cooperation agreement is signed in Moscow. It is directed at the elimination of Poland’s dependence on the West and to restore the USSR’s leading role in the Polish economy. The share of the West in Poland’s foreign trade is 30%. The agreement envisions cooperation in machine production, microelectronics, cybernetics, automated production, the production of coal, iron, energy and consumer goods, as well as shipping.

May 7. The USSR announces its non-participation at the Los Angeles Olympic Games. The Soviets justify the measure by claiming that the US government showed that “it does not intend to insure the security of all sportsmen, respect their rights and human dignity and create normal conditions for holding the games”. According to the communiqué the Reagan administration “uses the games for its own political aims. Chauvinistic sentiments and anti-Soviet hysteria are being whipped up in the country”.

May 16. The State Department declares that the Soviet government’s attitude towards the case of the Sakharov couple “is inhuman and practically incomprehensible”. According to the spokesman the US is worried by the present situation and will do everything to avoid a tragedy. Nobel prize laureate physicist Andrei Sakharov started a hunger strike, demanding that his wife be given foreign medical treatment.

May 31. NATO’s statement on its East-West politics: “Dialogue, cooperation and contacts at all levels on the full range of questions between East and West… aimed at mutual understanding, identifying common interests, clarifying objectives, expanding areas of agreement and resolving or isolating areas of disagreement”; Mutually advantageous trade and economic cooperation with Warsaw Pact members on commercially sound terms which are consistent with the allies’ broad security concerns, which include avoidance of contributing to Soviet military strength”; “Achieving security at the lowest possible level of forces through balanced, equitable and verifiable agreements of concrete arms control, disarmament and confidence-building measures”.

June 6. Reagan commemorates the 40^th anniversary of D-Day: “It is fitting to remember here the great losses suffered also by the Russian people during World War II. Twenty million perished, a terrible price that testifies to all the world the necessity of avoiding war”. Reagan adds, however, to censure the Soviets that “Soviet troops that came to the center of this continent did not leave when peace came. They are still there, uninvited, unwanted, unyielding, almost 40 years after the war”.

June 13. The DIA reports that in 1983 Soviet military expenditures grew at a faster pace than at any time before. The Soviet Union supports the idea of a well -prepared summit and expressed its intention to settle a whole complex of problems.

June 16. Reagan’s speech on Soviet-American relations. According to the President this relationship is marked by three main problems: the danger of Soviet-American confrontation because of one or the other of the local conflicts; the reduction of world armaments; the vicious circle of threat and its response, which is the motor of arms race. Reagan believes that cooperation must rest on “deeds and not words”, US policy towards the Soviet Union are guided by the principles of realism, strength and dialogue. US policy towards Moscow is the policy of credible deterrence, and constructive cooperation.

July 21. Poland announces amnesty for the political prisoners. – The Soviet Union’s proposal for banning space weapons. The Soviets want to issue a joint communiqué of the intention to negotiate. The parties are unable to agree on the text of the joint communiqué. The Americans want to discuss the militarization of outer space, while the Soviets on how to avoid it. According to the head of the American section of the Soviet Foreign Ministry the US version is an attempt to alter the subject of the talks, which in such a way would legalize the arms race in outer space.® December 22, 1984.

August 3. The US lifts a part of the sanctions imposed on Poland. President Reagan is “concerned with the situation in Poland”, but he regards the amnesty as a “potentially positive development” and a “significant move in the direction of national reconciliation”. In US view in case of “the complete and reasonable implementation of the amnesty decision” Washington would not oppose Warsaw’s membership in the IMF.® December 14, 1984.

August 16. Poland initiates talks with the US on the lifting of US economic sanctions. According to the Polish note they caused harm to the whole Polish people, contributed to the dwindling of living standard and made everyday life even more difficult and caused a several billion dollar damage to the Polish economy.”® February 17, 1987.

August 25. The Soviet minister of defense announces that the USSR carried out a successful experiment with long range cruise missiles. The range of the missile is 2900 km, while that of the US version is 2160 km.

September 11. Reagan invites Gromyko to the White House in order to reduce US-Soviet tension. He announces that the USSR is receiving permission to buy another 10 million tons of US wheat in the financial year beginning in the fiscal year starting on October the first.® September 28, 1984.

September 24. Reagan’s speech at the 39^th Assembly of the UN. “The United States has always been and will always be a friend of peaceful solutions. This is no less true with my country’s relations with the Soviet Union. “…Deterrence will always be necessary, but not sufficient. …We are ready for constructive negotiations with the Soviet Union. …I propose that our two countries agree to embark on periodic consultations at policy level about regional problems. …Spheres of influence are a thing of the past. Differences between American and Soviet interests are not. The objective of this political dialogue will be to help avoid miscalculation, reduce the potential risk of US-Soviet confrontation, and to help the people in areas of conflict to find peaceful solutions. …Our second task must be to find ways to reduce the vast stockpiles of armaments in the world. …The third task I set in January was to establish a better working relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States, one marked by greater cooperation and understanding. …Toward this end, I will suggest to the Soviet Union that we institutionalize regular ministerial or cabinet level meetings between our two countries. …And I propose that we find a way for Soviet experts to come to the United States’ nuclear test sites and for ours to go to theirs…We should work toward having such arrangements in place by next spring…”. – September 27. Gromyko has harsh words to criticize US foreign policy and urges concrete steps to prove that the US administration wants better relations with the Soviet Union.

September 28. Reagan-Gromyko meeting in the White House.

November 22. The US and the Soviet Union announce that new talks on the control of nuclear weapons will begin in early 1985.

December 14. The US accepts Polish membership in the IMF.

December 15. Mikhail S. Gorbachev visits Great Britain. The Soviet politician is received by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. According to Western analysts Gorbachev could be the Soviet Union’s next leader. Thatcher: “I like Mr. Gorbachev- we can do business together”.

December 22. British Prime Minister Thatcher supports the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program of the US, which is directed at installing an ABM system in outer space. The production and installation of such a system must be preceded by talks, since their deployment is regulated by an international treaty, Thatcher says. US Defense Secretary Weinberger claims that SDI does not aim at decoupling US defense from Western Europe’s.® October 22, 1985.