- Since 1947, the two great victors of the Second World War have wanted to impose their ideology. Two blocks are formed:one to the west with the United States and the other to the east with the USSR. The other countries must then choose one of the two camps. It is the cold war, so called because the two powers never directly confront each other, but each possesses nuclear weapons and threatens each other. This is a time of great tension.
- Leonid Brezhnev, leader of the Soviet Union, proposes to validate the European borders resulting from the Second World War.
August 1, 1975
Characters
Leonid Brezhnev
Gerald Ford
Willy Brandt
Procedure
- July 3, 1973:The first Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) meets in Helsinki, Finland.
- It includes 35 participating countries:United States, USSR, Canada and all European countries except Albania.
Consequences
- 1 st August 1975:signing of the “Helsinki Accords”. These agreements are not a legal treaty but political commitments to follow.
- The agreements define 10 principles governing relations between the signatory nations. They can be summarized as follows:
- inviolability of WWII borders;
- encouraging cooperation between countries;
- obligation to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.
- These agreements mark the beginning of a Cold War period of détente as the United States and the USSR jointly sign the “Helsinki Accords”.
- 1995:The CSCE is replaced by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).