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Détente back to Cold War

Détente back to Cold War. 1969-79. 1969-75. This period saw significant improvement in the relationship between the US and the USSR. This improvement was mostly brought about by President Nixon and his National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger.

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Détente back to Cold War

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  1. Détente backto Cold War 1969-79

  2. 1969-75 • This period saw significant improvement in the relationship between the US and the USSR. • This improvement was mostly brought about by President Nixon and his National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger. • America’s willingness to follow a policy of détente was met with approval by Leonid Brezhnev of the USSR

  3. Détente: early progress • The first sign of this new thaw in relations was the beginning of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) in 1969. • Then in 1971 Nixon visited China – the world’s most populous nation. • This was deliberately intended to provoke a response from the USSR. Why?

  4. Sino-Soviet Split • In the early 1960s the world’s two greatest communist countries quarrelled with each other. • The Chinese resented the refusal of the Russians to help them develop their nuclear weapons technology. • The Russians believed that the Chinese might provoke war with the US and so couldn’t be trusted.

  5. From détente to Cold War • Nixon decided to exploit this tension between the two by playing one off against the other to put pressure on the USSR to sign SALT. • His visit to China worried the Soviet Union that China and the US might ‘gang up’ against them. • The Russians decided to improve relations with the US to stop this happening. • They quickly agreed to sign the 1972 SALT I Treaty and invited Nixon to Moscow to sign it. SALT I ‘froze’ the number of submarine and land-based missiles for 5 years.

  6. Illustration from ‘The Cold War’ by Lawrence Freedman

  7. An NDM Prod. Nixon knew that détente was a vote-winner The USSR could not afford its huge military expenditure (20% of GNP) Why were both superpowers ready for détente? SALT started 1969 Detente 1969-75 Nixon visited China 1971 Nixon invited to Moscow 1972 Brezhnev visited USA 1973 Helsinki Agreement 1975 SALT I Treaty 1972 US withdrew from South Vietnam 1973

  8. Further progress to detente • The one remaining obstacle to improve still further relations was the US role in Vietnam. In April 1973, the US withdrew its troops. This soon led to: • The Helsinki Agreement, 1975: • 35 European nations agreed to accept Europe’s borders as permanent – this pleased the USSR. • they also agreed to guarantee human rights (such as the right to protest) in their own countries- this pleased the US.

  9. Why did this period of détentegive way to the ‘new’ Cold War? • The USSR soon made it obvious that they had no intention of allowing any human rights by arresting dissidents (opponents of communism in USSR) • In 1976 the Cubans (with Soviet backing) sent 40,000 troops to help communists in Angola’s civil war. • The biggest setback was caused by the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

  10. An NDM Prod. Nixon knew that détente was a vote-winner The USSR could not afford its huge military expenditure (20% of GNP) Why were both superpowers ready for détente? Soviet arrests of leading dissidents Why did this period of détente come to an end? Cuban troops sent to Angola 1976 SALT started 1969 Détente to ‘new’ Cold War 1969-79 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan 1979 Nixon visited China 1971 Nixon invited to Moscow 1972 Brezhnev visited USA 1973 Helsinki Agreement 1975 SALT I Treaty 1972 US withdrew from South Vietnam 1973

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