SALT Agreements

The SALT I agreements were signed by Leonid Brezhnev and Richard Nixon on May 26, 1972 and agreed to limit intercontinental and long-range ballistic missiles, and defensive anti-ballistic missile systems of the United States and the USSR. The SALT II treaty was signed by Leonid Brezhnev and Jimmy Carter on June 18, 1979, and agreed to limits on the total amount of nuclear forces of both powers and other restrictions.

See also: Cold War détente

The historical context

After the end of World War II (1939-1945), the United States and the Soviet Union embarked on a competition for global hegemony that was called the Cold War. This conflict included an arms race which promoted the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and anti-ballistic missiles with defensive functionality (ABM).

Since 1962, a period of détente had begun in relations between both powers and, at the end of the decade, An attempt was made to reach an agreement that would avoid an escalation of the nuclear danger.. In this context, talks began to limit the development of offensive and defensive strategic weapons.

Negotiations between the Soviets and the Americans to limit the production of strategic (very long-range) missiles loaded with nuclear weapons They were officially started in Helsinki in November 1969during Richard Nixon's presidency in the United States and Leonid Brezhnev's leadership in the Soviet Union.

See also: Chronology of the Cold War

The SALT I agreements

After arduous negotiations, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and US President Richard Nixon signed in Moscow in May 1972. the ABM Treaty and the SALT Agreement, generally grouped under the name SALT I agreements.

These agreements They put a limit on the construction of strategic weapons and set a certain amount for intercontinental missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-mounted missile launchers (SLBMs) ​​that the Soviet Union and the United States could possess.

Also limited the establishment of anti-missile defense systems (the so-called ABM or anti-ballistic missiles for defense against ICBMs or intercontinental ballistic missiles). These agreements took the “balance of terror” to an extreme: the theory that the nuclear danger would be so high that no power would dare to start a direct conflict with the other. For deterrence to prevent a war, it was necessary that the two superpowers not try to defend their populations from a nuclear attack. “Mutually assured destruction” seemed the only way to prevent a conflict.

Either way, The SALT agreements symbolized détente. It was the end of what the Americans called brinkmanship (“politics of the edge of the abyss”) and the beginning of the search for stable relations with the adversary. They were also the consecration of bipolarity: the United States definitively recognized the parity of the Soviet Union.

The SALT II agreements

In 1972 new negotiations began which led in 1974 to the drafting in Vladivostok (Russia) of a protocol that established the basic framework for a new agreement. On June 18, 1979, Brezhnev and the new president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, signed the new treaty, known as SALT II, ​​in Vienna. This treaty limited the number and type of intercontinental nuclear missiles that the two powers could have at their disposal.

After its signing, the SALT II Treaty had to be ratified by the US Senate. However, After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 and in the context of the “Euromissile” crisis, Carter withdrew from the Senate the SALT II Treaty, which was judged to be very favorable for the Soviet Union. Yes ok this new agreement did not come into forceboth powers decided to respect the agreed principles.

In 1981, Ronald Reagan became president of the United States and promoted rearmament through the Strategic Defense Initiative that ended the ban on establishing anti-missile defense systems. However, in 1982 he began the talks known as START (Strategic Arms Reduction Talks) for the reduction of nuclear weapons. In 1986, the United States government officially disassociated itself from the SALT agreements..

The ABM Treaty and the SALT I Agreement (1972)

The main outcome of the SALT I talks were the ABM Treaty and the SALT I Agreement, signed in Moscow on May 26, 1972 by Richard Nixon for the United States and Leonid Brezhnev for the Soviet Union.

Through the ABM Treaty, both powers agreed to limit their anti-ballistic missile systems (ABM, from the English anti-ballistic missile) for strategic defense against intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) intercontinental ballistic missile).

The SALT I Agreement resolved to limit offensive nuclear weapons and stop the construction of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM). Below are some fragments of both documents.

Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM Treaty)

May 26, 1972

“United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, hereinafter referred to as the Parties,

Starting from the premise that a nuclear war would have devastating consequences for humanity as a whole,

Considering that the adoption of effective measures to limit anti-ballistic missile systems would be an important factor in curbing the strategic offensive arms race and would lead to a decrease in the risk of the outbreak of a war with nuclear weapons,

Based on the premise that the limitation of anti-ballistic missile systems, as well as certain agreed measures regarding the limitation of strategic offensive arms, would contribute to the creation of more favorable conditions for continuing negotiations on the limitation of strategic arms,

Mindful of its obligations under Article 6 of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,

Declaring its intention to achieve as soon as possible the cessation of the nuclear arms race and to take effective measures with a view to the reduction of strategic arms, nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament,

Desiring to contribute to the relaxation of international tension and the strengthening of confidence between States,

They have agreed to the following:

Art. 1. 1. Each party undertakes to limit anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems and to take other measures in accordance with the provisions of this treaty.

2. Each Party undertakes not to deploy ABM systems for the defense of the territory of its country or to provide a base for such defense, and not to deploy ABM systems for the defense of a specific region except in the cases provided for in Article 3 of this treaty.

(…)

Art. 3. Each party agrees not to deploy ABM systems or their components except that:

a) within an ABM system deployment area with a radius of one hundred fifty kilometers and centered on the national capital of the party, a party may deploy: 1) no more than one hundred ABM launchers and no more than one hundred ABM interceptor missiles at launch points, and 2) ABM radars within no more than six ABM radar complexes, the area of ​​each complex being circular and having a diameter of no more than three kilometers; and

b) within an ABM system deployment area that has a radius of one hundred fifty kilometers and contains ICBM launching silos, a party may deploy: 1) no more than one hundred ABM launchers and no more than one hundred ABM interceptor missiles in the launch points, 2) two large phased array ABM radars comparable in potential to the corresponding ABM radars operational or under construction at the date of the treaty signing in an ABM system deployment area containing silos of ICBM launchers, and 3) no more than eighteen ABM radars, each with a potential less than the potential of the smallest of the large phased array ABM radars mentioned above.

(…)

Art. 15. 1. This treaty will have an unlimited duration.

2. Each party shall, in the exercise of its national sovereignty, have the right to abandon this treaty if it decides that extraordinary events relating to the subject matter of this treaty have endangered its supreme interests. It will communicate its decision to the other party six months before withdrawing from the treaty. Such communication will include a statement of extraordinary events that the notifying party believes have endangered its supreme interests. (…) “

Done in Moscow on May 26, 1972 (…)
For the United States of America: Richard Nixon, President of the United States.
For the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

Interim agreement on certain measures relating to the limitation of strategic offensive arms (SALT I Agreement)

May 26, 1972

“The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America, hereinafter referred to as the Parties, (…)

They have agreed to the following:

Art. 1. The parties undertake not to begin the construction of additional fixed land launchers for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) after July 1, 1972.

(…)

Art. 3. The parties undertake to limit submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers and modern ballistic missile submarines to the number operational and under construction on the date of signature of this provisional agreement (…) .

Art. 7. The parties undertake to actively continue negotiations on the limitation of strategic offensive arms. (…).

Art. 8. (…) 3. Each party will have, in the exercise of its national sovereignty, the right to abandon this provisional agreement if it decides that extraordinary events related to the subject matter of this provisional agreement have endangered its supreme interests. (…)“

Done in Moscow on May 26, 1972 (…)
For the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: Leonid Brezhnev, general secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU.
For the United States of America: Richard Nixon, President of the United States.

document.addEventListener(“DOMContentLoaded”, (e) => {

var sliderContainer, slider;
sliderContainer = document.getElementById(‘block_a0b8f9a4c70df7428c09c4ba6c980eca’);

if (typeof initSlider !== ‘function’) {

console.log(‘Swiper haven\’t been loaded’);
sliderContainer.className += ‘ fw scroll-snap’;
return;

};

options = {
direction: ‘horizontal’,
speed: 1000,

slidesPerView: ‘auto’,
// slidesPerGroup: 1,

centerInsufficientSlides: true,
// centeredSlides:true,

spaceBetween: 15,
breakpoints: {
720: {
// centeredSlides: false,
// slidesPerGroup: 2,
spaceBetween: 25
},
},

pagination: {
el: ‘.swiper-pagination’,
type: ‘bullets’,
clickable: true
},
}

slider = initSlider(sliderContainer, options);
})

References

• Provisional Agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States (SALT I), May 26, 1972, in: United States Department of State. Office of the Historian. https://history.state.gov/
• Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2023). Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
• Powaski, R. E. (2000). The Cold War: United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991. Criticism.
• Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union (ABM Treaty), May 26, 1972, at: United States Department of State. Office of the Historian. https://history.state.gov/
• Veiga, F., Da Cal, E. & Duarte, A. (2006). The simulated peace. A story of the Cold War. Alliance.