Geneva Summit (1955)

The Geneva Summit is either of two Cold War-era meetings held thirty years apart in Geneva, Switzerland.

The first was held on July 18, 1955 and was a meeting of "The Big Four": President Dwight D. Eisenhower of the United States, Prime Minister Anthony Eden of Britain, Premier Nikolai A. Bulganin of the Soviet Union, and Prime Minister Edgar Faure of France. They were accompanied by the foreign ministers of the four powers (who were also members of the Council of Foreign Ministers): John Foster Dulles, Harold Macmillan, Vyacheslav Molotov and Antoine Pinay. Also in attendance was Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union.

The second Geneva Summit was on November 19, 1985, between U.S. president Ronald Reagan and Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev. The two leaders met for the first time to hold talks on international diplomatic relations and the arms race.

The purpose of both the 1955 and the 1985 Geneva Summit was to bring together world leaders to begin discussions on peace. Although those discussions led down many different roads (arms negotiations, trade barriers, diplomacy, nuclear warfare, etc.), the talks were influenced by the common goal for increased global security.. The creation of an international community was introduced as a way to help relieve global tensions and mistrust. This community would form the critical foundation of a unified world in which minimal barriers to trade and common interests would serve to engender diplomacy.

Topics such as East-West trade agreements, tariffs, the arms race, international security and disarmament policy were all addressed to some extent. The intent of this policy was to prevent nations from stockpiling dangerous weapons, and eventually lead to the disarmament of all weapons of mass destruction. Surprisingly, one goal that American political advisers had for the conference was to not make any specific promises or guarantees to the Soviets. In the past, Soviet leaders have misinterpreted American suggestions as whole-hearted promises later on, which could serve to bring more division instead of unity. Since this meeting was the first of its kind, the seeds of unification needed to be planted, nothing else.

The issue of East-West trade agreements was one that needed to be discussed very delicately. All previous East-West trade agreement talks had been anything but diplomatic. In the past, trade agreements had always been an occasion for discourse and heated arguments. Neither the UK nor the U.S. was willing to share control of their trading spheres unless there were obvious strategic advantages of doing so. Nations were at a standstill because no one was willing to compromise for the good of the worldwide community. The problem with peace talks is that although each nation knows the importance and benefits of peace, there is never enough mutual trust to ensure the success of such talks. The talks in Geneva helped break the ice and introduce nations to the benefits of free trade. Also, simply by meeting and talking, the leaders were able to develop relationships and have an optimistic outlook on a peaceful and cooperative future.

The Cold War and Geneva

The Cold War had a major impact on the topics debated during the Geneva Summit. International tensions were at its peak during the Cold War, as tensions were on the rise, the Cold War leaders thought it would be a good idea to unite under a common cause for peace in Geneva.

The world leaders discussed issues on security, armaments, German unification, and stronger east west relationships. Khrushchev was willing to allow a united Germany providing it was neutral, but West German entrance into NATO in May made the situation increasingly complicated. Khrushchev wanted the removal of both NATO and the Warsaw Pact, to be replaced by a new system of collective security. This conference marked an era of renewed optimism in cold war relationships, however this was disrupted later by the Suez Crisis.

1985: Reagan and Gorbachev

On November 19, 1985, U.S. president Ronald Reagan and Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev met for the first time, in Geneva, to hold talks on international diplomatic relations and the arms race. Gorbachev later said, regarding the summit, “We viewed the Geneva meeting realistically, without grand expectations, yet we hoped to lay the foundations for a serious dialogue in the future.” Similar to former president Eisenhower in 1955, Reagan believed that a personal relationship among leaders was the necessary first step to breaking down the barriers of tension that existed between the two countries. Reagan’s goal was to convince Gorbachev that America desired peace above all else. Reagan described his hopes for the summit as a "mission for peace". The first thing Reagan said to Gorbachev was "The United States and the Soviet Union are the two greatest countries on Earth, the superpowers. They are the only ones who can start WWIII, but also the only two countries that could bring peace to the world". He then continued to emphasize their similarities, being born in similar "rural hamlets in the middle of their retrospective countries" and the great responsibilities they held.

Their first meeting would exceed their time limit by over a half an hour. A Reagan assistant asked Secretary of State George Shultz whether he should interrupt the meeting to keep things punctual. Shultz responded, "If you think so, then you shouldn't have this job" . The first day, Mikhail Gorbachev argued that the United States did not trust them and that its ruling class was trying to keep the people uneasy. Ronald Reagan countered that the Soviets had been acting aggressively and had refused to allow American planes use Soviet airfields in post-WWII Germany. They broke for lunch and Reagan promised Gorbachev he'd have a chance to rebut. They talked outside for about two hours on the Strategic Defense Initiative, but both stood firm. Gorbachev accepted Reagan's invitation to the United States in a year, and Reagan was invited to do the same in '87. On the second day, Reagan went after human rights, saying that he did not want to tell Gorbachev how to run his country, but that he should ease up on emigration restrictions. Gorbachev claimed that the Soviets were comparable to the United States and quoted some feminist extremists. The next session started with arguments about the arms race, then went into SDI. Gorbachev was "belligerent" and Reagan "stood firm", though they did agree to a joint statement.

Notes

References

Bischof, Gunter. Cold War Respite: The Geneva Summit of 1955, (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2000)

Morgenthau, Hans J. Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1985)

Reston, James. Big Four Conference Opens Today; West’s Chiefs Complete Strategy on Germany, Disarming, Security, The New York Times, July 18, 1955, pg.1; ProQuest Historical Newspapers.

Matlock, Jr., Jack F. Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended, (New York: Random House Inc., 2004)

Staff. An Outline of American History: Cold War, department of Alfa-Informatica of the University of Groningen

Staff. Geneva Summit - President Reagan to Hold Pre-summit Speech, ABC News — retrieved 24 January 2007.

External links

Big Four in Time Magazine

Category:1955 in Switzerland Category:1985 in Switzerland Category:Cold War Category:Foreign relations of the Soviet Union Category:France – Soviet Union relations Category:Soviet Union – United Kingdom relations Category:Soviet Union – United States diplomatic conferences Category:Diplomatic conferences in Switzerland Category:20th-century diplomatic conferences Category:1955 in international relations