THE PROBLEM OF THE MIDDLE EAST SETTLEMENT IN SOVIET-AMERICAN RELATIONS DURING THE PERIOD OF DETENTE (1969-1974)

Aim. To study the Soviet-American negotiation process in the Middle East settlement in 1969-1974. Methodology and Approach. The author examines documents from the USSR’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US State Department concerning direct contacts between Soviet and American leaders, including the confidential Dobrynin-Kissinger channel. System and terminological analysis are used, as well as comparative-historical and concrete-historical analyses. Results. Factors that contributed to the beginning of the Soviet-American detente and bilateral negotiations on arms limitation and other international problems, including the Middle East settlement, are identified. The author verifies the importance for the American side of resolving its withdrawal from the war in Vietnam “without losing face,” which was then used as a “link” with the problem of Middle East settlement. Additionally, the interest of the USSR in first establishing and continuing the bilateral process of arms limitation before addressing the problem of the Arab-Israeli conflict is proved. The key role of the confidential channel in the Middle East settlement is analyzed. The factors that led to the United States’ assumption, after resolution of the Vietnam war, of its role as the sole lead in the Arab-Israeli settlement are determined. Theoretical and/or Practical Implications. A number of theoretical issues in the history of international relations, the foreign policies of the United States and the USSR, and Soviet-American relations during the period of detente are analyzed and summarized. The study of the Soviet-American negotiation process and the activities of the confidential channel is important for understanding modern international and Russian-American relations.

Soviet-American detente, Middle East settlement, Arab-Israeli conflict, Six-Day War of 1967, Yom Kippur War of 1973, confidential channel, Dobrynin-Kissinger

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