FRANCE AND DISARMAMENT ISSUES (1958-1974)

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze the evolution of the French policy in matters of arms reduction during the presidency of Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou. Based on the materials of the archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, most of which have not been put into scientific circulation either in Russian or in foreign historiography, the text shows the reasons for the formation and peculiarities of Paris's special policy in the field of disarmament. The study confirms that the position of France, which refused to participate in all major arms reduction projects, was explained by the détente’s essence and disarmament issues understanding different from the standpoint of the USSR and the United States. For Moscow and Washington, detente meant consolidating the status quo that developed after the Second World War, and arms reduction, respectively, was invariably planned on a balanced and block basis. France, which aspired just to overcome the Yalta system of international relations, rejected Soviet-American initiatives to reduce armaments because of their bipolar nature. The conclusions drawn in the article are relevant not only for the Cold War period, but also for the current aggravation of the international situation.