Presidents and Russia: Richard Nixon and Detente with Russia
Richard Nixon became President on January 21, 1969, taking office in the midst of a shooting war in Vietnam, and the Cold War as well. It was a time that called for strong international leadership, during a sustained period of geopolitical tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union that had been ongoing since the end of the Second World War. The United States and the Soviet Union had been the leaders of the competing groups in the Cold War, but the global calculus was changing. U.S. allies in Western Europe and East Asia had recovered economically from the war, and while they remained allied with United States, they were also becoming more independent when it came to their own foreign policies. Something similar was happening among Communist states, as the split between the Soviet Union and China escalated into a border conflict in 1969. The United States and the Soviet Union continued to wage a battle of capitalism vs. communism, but tensions had eased considerably since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
For all of his faults, Nixon is generally considered to have been competent when it came to international matters. He relied heavily on Henry Kissinger, who later became his Secretary of State, and together they sought to establish peaceful relations with both the Soviet Union and China. Nixon hoped to forge closer relations with China and the Soviet Union as part of his overall strategy to end the Vietnam War. He hoped that building a good relationship with the two leading Communist powers would pressure North Vietnam into accepting a favorable peace settlement.
In 1972 Nixon visited China and met with its leader Mao Zedong. With the Soviets, Nixon pursued a policy of détente, the easing of tensions with the Soviet Union. It was one of his top priorities on the international stage. Through his policy of détente, he hoped, in his words, to "minimize confrontation in marginal areas and provide, at least, alternative possibilities in the major ones." He was not alone in this approach to the Soviets. West Germany was also pursuing closer relations with the Soviet Union in a policy known as "Ostpolitik." Nixon believed that expanding trade with the Soviet Union would help the U.S. economy and could allow both countries to devote fewer resources to defense spending. Nixon felt that his timing for this was right because the Soviets were experiencing a struggling economy and because they were also in the midst of hostilities with China.
After taking office, Nixon used his first press conference, he stated that the United States would be content with nuclear parity, rather than nuclear superiority, with the Soviets. Henry Kissinger worked behind the scenes with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin over arms control negotiations and to seek potential Soviet assistance in negotiations with North Vietnam. Wanting to bargain from a position of strength, Nixon funded development of multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle missiles (MIRVs), ballistic missiles containing several warheads, each capable of being aimed to hit a different target. These were not easily countered by existing anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems. After over a year of negotiations with the Soviets, both sides agreed to the outlines of two treaties, one of which was to focus on ABM systems, while the other was to focus on limiting nuclear arsenals.
In May 1972, Nixon met with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and other leading Soviet officials at the 1972 Moscow Summit. The two sides reached the Strategic Arms Limitation Agreement (SALT I), which set upper limits on the number of offensive missiles and ballistic missile submarines that each county could maintain. A separate agreement, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, stipulated that each country could only field two anti-ballistic missile systems. The United States also agreed to the creation of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The two nations also agreed to an October 1972 trade agreement, one which vastly increased trade between the two countries. Nixon suffered a setback however when Congress would not approve of Nixon's proposal to extend most favored nation status to the Soviet Union.
Brezhnev visited the United States in 1973 and Nixon made a second trip to the Soviet Union in 1974, meeting with Brezhnev in Yalta. The two leaders discussed a proposed mutual defense pact and other issues, but there were no significant breakthroughs in the negotiations. Brezhnev knew that Nixon was in a weaker political position than he had been during their first meeting.
During Nixon's final year in office, Congress worked against Nixon's détente policies when it passed the Jackson–Vanik amendment. Senator Henry M. Jackson, an opponent of détente, introduced the amendment in response to a Soviet tax that curbed the flow of Jewish emigrants, many of whom wanted to immigrate to Israel. This angered the Soviets, and they canceled the 1972 trade agreement and reduced the number of Jews who were permitted to emigrate.
Détente proved to be unpopular with many on the left due to humanitarian concerns, and with many on the right due to concerns about being overly accommodating to the Soviets. Through the lens of historical hindsight, Nixon's policies helped to significantly lower Cold War tensions with the Soviets.
For all of his faults, Nixon is generally considered to have been competent when it came to international matters. He relied heavily on Henry Kissinger, who later became his Secretary of State, and together they sought to establish peaceful relations with both the Soviet Union and China. Nixon hoped to forge closer relations with China and the Soviet Union as part of his overall strategy to end the Vietnam War. He hoped that building a good relationship with the two leading Communist powers would pressure North Vietnam into accepting a favorable peace settlement.
In 1972 Nixon visited China and met with its leader Mao Zedong. With the Soviets, Nixon pursued a policy of détente, the easing of tensions with the Soviet Union. It was one of his top priorities on the international stage. Through his policy of détente, he hoped, in his words, to "minimize confrontation in marginal areas and provide, at least, alternative possibilities in the major ones." He was not alone in this approach to the Soviets. West Germany was also pursuing closer relations with the Soviet Union in a policy known as "Ostpolitik." Nixon believed that expanding trade with the Soviet Union would help the U.S. economy and could allow both countries to devote fewer resources to defense spending. Nixon felt that his timing for this was right because the Soviets were experiencing a struggling economy and because they were also in the midst of hostilities with China.
After taking office, Nixon used his first press conference, he stated that the United States would be content with nuclear parity, rather than nuclear superiority, with the Soviets. Henry Kissinger worked behind the scenes with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin over arms control negotiations and to seek potential Soviet assistance in negotiations with North Vietnam. Wanting to bargain from a position of strength, Nixon funded development of multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle missiles (MIRVs), ballistic missiles containing several warheads, each capable of being aimed to hit a different target. These were not easily countered by existing anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems. After over a year of negotiations with the Soviets, both sides agreed to the outlines of two treaties, one of which was to focus on ABM systems, while the other was to focus on limiting nuclear arsenals.
In May 1972, Nixon met with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and other leading Soviet officials at the 1972 Moscow Summit. The two sides reached the Strategic Arms Limitation Agreement (SALT I), which set upper limits on the number of offensive missiles and ballistic missile submarines that each county could maintain. A separate agreement, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, stipulated that each country could only field two anti-ballistic missile systems. The United States also agreed to the creation of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The two nations also agreed to an October 1972 trade agreement, one which vastly increased trade between the two countries. Nixon suffered a setback however when Congress would not approve of Nixon's proposal to extend most favored nation status to the Soviet Union.
Brezhnev visited the United States in 1973 and Nixon made a second trip to the Soviet Union in 1974, meeting with Brezhnev in Yalta. The two leaders discussed a proposed mutual defense pact and other issues, but there were no significant breakthroughs in the negotiations. Brezhnev knew that Nixon was in a weaker political position than he had been during their first meeting.
During Nixon's final year in office, Congress worked against Nixon's détente policies when it passed the Jackson–Vanik amendment. Senator Henry M. Jackson, an opponent of détente, introduced the amendment in response to a Soviet tax that curbed the flow of Jewish emigrants, many of whom wanted to immigrate to Israel. This angered the Soviets, and they canceled the 1972 trade agreement and reduced the number of Jews who were permitted to emigrate.
Détente proved to be unpopular with many on the left due to humanitarian concerns, and with many on the right due to concerns about being overly accommodating to the Soviets. Through the lens of historical hindsight, Nixon's policies helped to significantly lower Cold War tensions with the Soviets.