Geneva, Paris and Vienna Summits, 1955 - 1961

Geneva Summit July 1955
1. First meeting between the USSR and the US since Potsdam
2. Attempted to resolve the status of Germany and begin negotiations about arms control
3. Khrushchev
  1. Took the initiative, reasserting Stalin's plan to create a united and neutral Germany
    1. US refused to accept this
  2. West Germany had joined NATO
  3. Proposed disbanding NATO and the Warsaw Pact
    1. Eisenhower refused - saw NATO as essential to Western Security
4. Eisenhower
  1. Suggested an Arms Limitation Treaty backed by an 'OPEN SKIES' policy
  2. Proposal involved agreed limits on SUPERPOWER MILITARY POWER
  3. Superpowers would also authorize surveillance flights over each other's territory to check that limits were being adhered to
    1. Rejected by Khrushchev
      1. Did not want the West to 'spy' on Soviet territory
5. No agreement was reached but there was an acceptance of the STATUS QUO and that neither side wanted war
6. Agreement to meet in Paris in 1960
Paris Summit 1960
1. Khrushchev demanded an apology for the spying
2. Eisenhower stated that no further missions would take place but refused to apologize
3. Khrushchev walked out of the summit
  1. Memoirs showed that the U2 incident was the point at which the Kremlin hardliners lost faith in 'peaceful coexistence
U2 Incident
1. 15 days before Paris summit, Khrushchev announced that a U2 spy plane had been shot down over Siberia
2. Assuming the plane had been destroyed, Eisenhower released a cover story, claiming that the plane was a weather plane, not a spy plane
3. Soviet forces had captured the plane and the pilot - able to prove that Eisenhower had lied to the public
4. Propaganda victory for Khrushchev
Vienna Summit, 1961
1. Kennedy was determined to assert US strength due to the failure of his Cuban policy during the Bay of Pigs incident
2. The Soviet Position
  1. Khrushchev regarded Berin as the top priority
  2. Under pressure from Ulbricht to stop the exodus of East Germans to West Germany via Berlin
    1. 2.7 Million had left since 1945
  3. Keen to assert his authority by exploiting Kennedy's inexperience
3. The US Position
  1. Disarmament was main priority
  2. Open Skies policy
    1. Reduced the annual proposals from 20 to 10 in order to help reach an agreement
4. The Significance of the Vienna Summit
  1. Talks failed to reach agreement on the status of Berlin and on arms limitations
  2. Khrushchev appeared to threaten Kennedy with military action if the US continued to support West Berlin
  3. Kennedy used the opportunity to assert his hard-line position
    1. 'If all else fails in Berlin, we will use our nuclear weapons'

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Geneva, Paris and Vienna Summits, 1955 - 1961

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