Word: nuclear
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Predictably, Gorbachev fired off another of his patented bombshells -- this time, a proposal for dramatic cuts in conventional forces in Europe, coupled with an announcement of a unilateral, though small, reduction in short-range nuclear weapons. Both were crafted to appeal to U.S. allies, notably West Germany, that have been pressing Washington at least to negotiate about reducing the numbers of short-range nukes. According to some reports, Gorbachev assured Baker that his plan was not a political ploy, but Baker replied, "It certainly...
...Secretary of State had little else to say: he promised to consult the allies about the offer, praised the short-range nuclear cut as a "good step, but a small step," and refused to countenance any kind of negotiations on short-range nuclear forces (SNF). Once again the U.S. was made to look slow and unimaginative -- and once more it might be missing a chance to reduce tensions. The failure was all the more remarkable because some of Gorbachev's ideas have relatively little military significance. His unilateral reduction of 500 short-range nuclear weapons would come to about...
...That's my secret. I go in for some sports, particularly swimming. Maybe I'll tell you the other secrets in a few years. At the moment, however, all of us have to work very hard. After we have eliminated all nuclear weapons, all chemical weapons, after we have substantially reduced conventional weapons so that they are within the limits of reasonable defensive sufficiency, after we have completed our perestroika, then we shall take up sports very seriously...
...haired diplomat has a smile that can melt ice. And like Gorbachev, Shevardnadze sometimes shows a glint of iron teeth. Thanks, in part, to Shevardnadze's diplomatic labors, Soviet tanks and troops have been withdrawn from Afghanistan and are being partially withdrawn from Eastern Europe. A whole class of nuclear weapons has been marked for destruction under the INF treaty signed in 1987. As the Soviets and their allies disentangle themselves from conflicts in Namibia and Cambodia, they are making diplomatic inroads in the Middle East and China. "Shevardnadze has mastered the foreign policy agenda," says Robert Legvold, director...
...Matlock finds Shevardnadze a shrewd negotiator, so do the Foreign Minister's own countrymen. According to Deputy Minister Vorontsov, when Shevardnadze informed Soviet generals that the INF treaty required on-site verification of nuclear missiles, "they told us we were selling them out." In pressing military officials for a reason why U.S. inspectors could not visit these sites, the Foreign Ministry discovered "ridiculous explanations, like 'We don't have hotels there.' We said, 'Come on, we'll build them.' " The Soviet brass eventually gave...