ABSTRACT
At Vladivostok, on July 28, 1986, Gorbachev delivered an important speech, of which half was devoted to the economic development of the Soviet Far East and the rest to Soviet foreign policy in the Asian and Pacific regions. The Soviet Union, Gorbachev stressed, "is an Asian and Pacific country" that "realizes the complex problems of the vast region." Among the topics Gorbachev dwelt upon, though adding little to what had previously been proposed, was the need for a joint and comprehensive approach to security and confidence-building in Asia and the Pacific region. Much of the speech amounted to an indictment of Washington's policies. Switching momentarily to a more conciliatory tone, Gorbachev reiterated that the Soviet Union sought "peaceful, good-neighborly relations" with the United States. Gorbachev's Vladivostok speech brought no major concessions, but nevertheless created the impression that Moscow was willing to be more accommodating.
