U.S.-Soviet Summitry

Archive Report

Preparations for Meeting

Geneva Encounter First in Six Years

The Glacial Silence that has characterized relations between the leaders of the world's two superpowers in the 1980s will be broken later this month when President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev meet in Geneva “at the summit.” Rarely has the prospect of a summit meeting engendered such widespread attention and concern. Hardly a day has passed since Reagan issued his invitation to meet with the new Soviet leader that some new development has not led political figures, academics and commentators to speculate on the chances for success in Geneva.

The Nov. 19–20 encounter will be the first direct dialogue between the leaders of the superpowers since June 1979, when President Jimmy Carter met Soviet leader Leonid ...

locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles