War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Valentin Falin, 1987
Description:
Valentin Falin was an influential career Soviet diplomat, and later journalist, who specialized in European and particularly German affairs for most of the Cold War. In this interview, he goes into detail about the development of the political thinking of leaders of the Federal Republic of Germany over time. He includes a personal and political assessment of former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Much of the rest of the discussion deals with the Reykjavik summit of 1986 -- Soviet objectives and views of how the negotiations unfolded. He considers the summit a success, not least because it led to the watershed meeting in Washington, although it could have accomplished more. His final remarks cover the broad nature of the U.S.-Soviet conflict.
