Peaceful Coexistence 1955-60 Flashcards
3 reasons why Soviet foreign policy regarding peaceful coexistence developed
- Hungarian Uprising
- Showed limits of Soviet influence
- Condemnation of Western countries - Military and Economic reasons
- Nuclear capability makes it very dangerous
- More money was put forward to compete in the arms race - Death of Stalin
- Soviet leadership went through rivalry
- Khrushchev used high risk to out manoeuvre his opponents
When was the Austrian State Treaty?
July 1955
After WWII how was Austria divided?
Divided into occupation zones and USSR received economic aid
What was the agreement in Austria?
Withdrawal of occupying powers and that Austria would become a neutral state
Why was Austria so significant for peaceful coexistence?
- Shows serious intent towards mutual cooperation by removing a potential conflict which could have ended the same fate as Germany
- First step towards cooperation
- Western powers also removed forces from Western Germany following this
When was the Geneva Summit?
September 1955
Khrushchev’s objectives prior to Geneva Summit (3)
- Russia needed extensive conventional forces to control and keep secure the Eastern Bloc states
- After the FRG was admitted to NATO, rearmament began and USA agreed to keep a large and permanent force in Europe.
- This concerned Khrushchev and increased the urgency of organising a summit. - Risk of nuclear war
2 key talking point at the Geneva Summit
- Open Skies Proposal
- Future of Germany
What was the ‘open skies’ proposal?
Eisenhower presented this as a way to end the issues of both superpowers inspecting eachothers nuclear arsenals
- Each side was to provide details of military installations and to allow aerial reconnaissance
- Step closer to disarmament
What was Khrushchev’s response to the ‘open skies’ proposal?
Rejected
What did Eisenhower propose in terms of Germany at the Geneva Summit?
- Reunified
- Free elections
- Become apart of NATO
What was Khrushchev response in terms of Germany at the Geneva Summit and what was the result following the summit?
Khrushchev would only contemplate reunification if a future Germany was demilitarised and neutral
- Out of the summit, an agreement emerged on the principle of free elections, but no procedures were set up to make this progress become reality
Impact of Geneva Summit (Peaceful coexistence)
Overall the summits value lay not in its practical outcomes but in the fact that it appeared to mark the beginning of a dialogue between the superpowers
It seemed to mark a point of calm in international relations, and it suggested that the foundations of peaceful coexistence were firmly in place
When were the Camp David Talks?
September 1959
What were the two topics of conversation at Camp David Talks?
Disarmament and Berlin
(Also agreed to settle international issues through diplomacy)
Camp David’s impact on USSR-China relations
It seems likely that the visit also caused a deterioration in relations between Russia and China, and reinforced the West’s belief that the USSR and China were not closely allied in a communist power bloc.
What did Camp David lead to and when was this?
Paris Summit in May 1960
What were the discussions at the Paris Summit?
- Deal over Berlin
- A ban of nuclear weapons in Germany
- Prohibit nuclear weapons in the Pacific.
What was China’s response to Paris Summit talks and why?
China objected and said it would not be bound by any agreement it had not been involved in
- Most likely as China’s nuclear arsenal was set to be completed in 1960
When and why did the Paris Summit collapse?
American U-2 spy plane was shot down over Russia on 1st May
When was Vienna Talks and who met?
June 1961
- Kennedy and Khrushchev
What happened at Vienna Talks?
- Khrushchev attempted to bully JFK due to it closely following Yuri Gagarin and Bay of Pigs
- Berlin Ultimatum re-issued as Khrushchev wanted the US to sign a peace treaty and remove its troops from West Berlin, but Kennedy refused
What did Kennedy do after Vienna and impact on peaceful co-existence?
Asked Congress to increase defence spending, call up army reservists, and reactivate ships that were about to be scrapped
- Kennedy also called up for a build up of NATO forces
