Word: brezhnevs
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...Brezhnev's answer to Reagan's arms plan may be a start for START...
With golden medals glimmering on the breast of his dark suit, Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev slowly made his way though the lilacs and carnations to the podium. "Glory! Glory!" chanted 6,000 exultant members of the Young Communist League as their ailing leader, in his deep and slurred growl, began to speak. But a dramatic hush descended over the Kremlin's Palace of Congresses when Brezhnev reached the heart of his 35-minute address. The Komsomol delegates knew, as did Washington and the rest of the world, that the Soviet leader was planning to answer Ronald Reagan...
Predictably, Brezhnev complained that the U.S. proposal was "absolutely one-sided." Yet, amid his anti-American rhetoric, there was a cautious but clear sign that the two superpowers might resume discussions of ways to lessen the global peril wrought by their growing strategic arsenals. For Brezhnev also said of the U.S. offer, "In our opinion, this is a step in the right direction...
...Administration was satisfied by this response. The White House issued a statement declaring, "We welcome President Brezhnev's willingness to begin negotiations." Reagan was less guarded. "Do you have any reply to Brezhnev?" a reporter asked. "Not that you'd want to print," the President shot back. But then he added: "I'm kidding. I think we'll be meeting." Reagan's flippant remark, while inappropriate, reflected optimism within the White House that the President's arms-control speech, and Moscow's answer, will defuse domestic antinuclear sentiment and help smooth...
Whether the Reagan proposal can be the basis of serious negotiation depends largely on three factors: 1) whether the Soviet leadership, in the midst of its transition to the post-Brezhnev era, can absorb what may initially come as a shock, then respond with a constructive counterproposal; 2) whether the Reagan Administration is prepared to make substantial compromises in the negotiations for an eventual agreement; and 3) whether the Congress will continue to support the Administration's extremely expensive defense plans, which constitute the "or-else" inducement for the Soviets to bargain...