Joe's Trip to Russia in 1979: How Biden Rubbed Shoulders With the Soviets

A recently found Pravda article dated 27 August 1979 evokes memories of Joe Biden's first visit to the USSR. US academics have walked down memory lane discussing Biden's role in the US-Soviet SALT II negotiations and unexpected collapse of the agreement. 

While commenting on his meeting with the Soviet leadership Delaware Senator Joe Biden told The New York Times on 30 August 1979 that it had left him with the impression that the Kremlin was prepared to consider further arms cuts following President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev's signing of the SALT-II agreement in Vienna in June 1979. 

Biden Was 'Apparently More Progressive at That Time' 

Almost 41 years ago Biden led a group of American congressmen seeking to push ahead with the arms reduction treaty in the US Congress, which was not an easy task given the high level of mutual distrust between Washington and Moscow.