If you wish to acquire broadcast quality material of this reel or want to know more about our Public Domain collection, contact us at info@footagefarm.co.uk [1985 - Speech on US-USSR Relations - Excerpts. 16Jan84] Card 1 of 2 People stand, Reagan enters East Room & to lectern, SOF: "... I would like to share w/ you & the people of the world my thoughts on a subject of great importance to the cause of peace -- relations between the United States & the Soviet Union. Tomorrow the United States will join the Soviet Union & 33 other nations at a European disarmament conference in Stockholm. The conference will search for practical & meaningful ways to increase European security & preserve peace. ... Through times of difficulty & frustration, America's highest aspiration has never wavered. We have & will continue to struggle for a lasting peace that enhances dignity for men & women everywhere. I believe that 1984 finds the United States in the strongest position in years to establish a constructive & realistic working relationship w/ the Soviet Union. We've come a long way since the decade of the seventies, years when the United States seemed filled w/ self-doubt & neglected its defenses, while the Soviet Union increased its military might & sought to expand its influence by armed forces & threat. 18:09:55 Over the last 10 years, the Soviets devoted twice as much of their gross national product to military expenditures as the United States, produced six times as many ICBM's, four times as many tanks, twice as many combat aircraft. And they began deploying the SS - 20 intermediate-range missile at a time when the United States had no comparable weapon. History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap. ... So, when we neglected our defenses, the risks of serious confrontation grew. Three years ago, we embraced a mandate from the American people to change course, & we have. (abrupt cut) 18:10:58 "Our policy toward the Soviet Union -- a policy of credible deterrence, peaceful competition, & constructive cooperation -- will serve our two nations & people everywhere. It is a policy not just for this year, but for the long term. It's a challenge for Americans; it is also a challenge for the Soviets. If they cannot meet us halfway, we will be prepared to protect our interests & those of our friends & allies. But we want more than deterrence. We seek genuine cooperation. ...we'll stay at the negotiating tables in Geneva & Vienna. Furthermore, Secretary Shultz will be meeting this week w/ Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko in Stockholm. This meeting should be followed by others, so that high-level consultations become a regular & normal component of U.S.-Soviet relations. Our challenge is peaceful. It will bring out the best in us. It also calls for the best in the Soviet Union. We do not threaten the Soviet Union. Freedom poses no threat. It is the language of progress. We proved this 35 years ago when we had a monopoly on nuclear weapons & could have tried to dominate the world, but we didn't. Instead, we used our power to write a new chapter in the history of mankind. We helped rebuild war-ravaged economies in Europe & the Far East, including those of nations who had been our enemies. ... Our two countries have never fought each other. There's no reason why we ever should. Indeed, we fought common enemies in World War II. Today our common enemies are poverty, disease, & above all, war. More than 20 years ago, President Kennedy defined an approach that is as valid today as when he announced it: "So let us not be blind to our differences," he said, "but let us also direct attention to our common interests & to the means by which those differences can be resolved." ... Just suppose w/ me for a moment that an Ivan & an Anya could find themselves, oh, say, in a waiting room, or sharing a shelter from the rain or a storm w/ a Jim & Sally, & there was no language barrier to keep them from getting acquainted. Would they then debate the differences between their respective governments? Or would they find themselves comparing notes about their children & what each other did for a living? Before they parted company, they would probably have touched on ambitions & hobbies & what they wanted for their children & problems of making ends meet. And as they went their separate ways, maybe Anya would be saying to Ivan, "Wasn't she nice? She also teaches music." Or Jim would be telling Sally what Ivan did or didn't like about his boss. ...Above all, they would have proven that people don't make wars. People want to raise their children in a world w/o fear & w/o war. They want to have some of the good things over & above bare subsistence that make life worth living. ... Their common interests cross all borders. If the Soviet Government wants peace, then there will be peace ... Let us begin now. Thank you. (applause)

• published: 18 Nov 2013
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