Word: brezhnevs
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
WARSAW PACT. Because the 24th Congress was the first since the 1968 Czechoslovak invasion, Brezhnev felt compelled to justify Soviet actions in quashing Prague's Springtime of Freedom. He insisted that the Czechoslovaks had called upon their Communist neighbors to help repulse imperialists and counterrevolutionaries. Should a similar situation arise elsewhere within the pact, he added, Soviet intervention would once more ensue. Later Czechoslovak Party Boss Gustav Husák slavishly thanked the Soviets for invading his country...
WEST EUROPE. Brezhnev reiterated the Soviet desire for a relaxation of tensions on the Continent-on Moscow's terms. He praised the cordial state of Franco-Soviet relations. But he warned that West Germany's failure so far to ratify the Bonn-Moscow renunciation-of-force treaty "would produce a fresh crisis of confidence over the Federal Republic's policies and would worsen the political climate in Europe...
...Brezhnev complained that it has become more difficult to negotiate with the U.S. because of "the frequent zigzags in American foreign policy." Nonetheless, he declared that "we proceed from the viewpoint that it is possible to improve relations between the U.S. and U.S.S.R." The Soviet leader expressed the hope that the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks now under way in Vienna would succeed. His reasoning was economic: a halt in the missile race would "release considerable resources for constructive purposes...
CHINA. Soviet forbearance, claimed Brezhnev, has brought about a distinct improvement in Sino-Soviet relations. Trade has begun to increase between the two countries, and he expects a continued rise in the future. But subsequent Soviet speakers lambasted the Chinese -one described their brand of Communism as "repulsive"-creating a stir of disapproval among the North Korean, North Vietnamese, Japanese and Rumanian delegations...
MIDDLE EAST. Brezhnev reaffirmed Soviet backing for the Arabs and warned that Israel's 1967 victory may prove illusory. He urged the Israelis to accept a political settlement and said that Moscow was willing to join Britain, France and the U.S. in providing international guarantees to both Arabs and Israelis. It was not clear whether that meant the Soviet Union was willing to join the U.S. in the Middle East peace-keeping force suggested by Secretary of State William Rogers, though Moscow has hinted in the past that it might participate...