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Changing Cold War relations - Detente
- 2. During the 1970s, there was a ‘thaw’ in relations between the USA and Soviet Union as both sides took steps to reduce the chance of war.
- 3. Détente means ‘relax’ in French. During this period both the USA and USSR worked together on projects. They also took steps to reduce the number of weapons they had.
- 4. The process of improved relations began in the 1960s, after the Cuban Missile Crisis. The USA and USSR agreed to set up a hotline between Moscow and Washington and also a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
- 5. Richard Nixon became the first US President to visit Moscow when he travelled there for a summit in 1972. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev then went to the USA for another meeting in 1973.
- 6. Nixon also showed a willingness to work with other Communist countries. He travelled to China for a meeting in 1972, a year after the US table tennis team toured the country.
- 7. Détente took place for many reasons although one of them was fear of a possible nuclear war. They two countries held talks about limiting the amount and type of nuclear weapons that each side had.
- 8. There had been previous agreements between the USA and Soviet Union to limit their weaponry. These had enjoyed limited success. This was because each side had very different weapons, so it was hard to compare them.
- 9. In 1972, a new agreement was reached: Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT). These talks became known as SALT I and agreed three outcomes.
- 10. SALT I agreement 1. Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty) Each side agreed to only have two nuclear defence systems (one for weapons and the other for their capital cities)
- 11. SALT I agreement 2. The Interim Treaty Agreed a limit on the number of ICBM and SLBM nuclear weapons each side could have. This would last until 1977.
- 12. SALT I agreement 3. The Basic Principles Agreement Tried to minimise conflict between the two by improving relations e.g. increasing trade between them
- 13. Overall SALT I was seen as a positive step. This lead to SALT II. SALT II started in 1974 and proposed further controls on weaponry. However ultimately this treaty was rejected by the US Senate.
- 14. In March 1975 most countries – including the USA and USSR – signed a biological weapons treaty. This agreement said that countries involved would not make or use biological weapons.
- 15. The two sides also met together at Helsinki in Finland in 1975 to discuss various issues. These became known as the Helsinki Accords.
- 16. Three main agreements (baskets) were reached : 1. Confirmed that Eastern Bloc borders could not be altered by force 2. Improved trade between both sides 3. USSR agreed to improve human rights e.g. free speech
- 17. A very symbolic action took place not on earth but in space. In 1975 both countries allowed their astronauts and cosmonauts to work together in space. The Apollo-Soyuz link up was a major TV event.
- 18. Détente ultimately came to an end as the 1970s finished. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 caused anger in the USA, and this stopped further attempts to improve US/USSR links.