ABSTRACT
The six-point agreement formalised during Kissinger’s visit to the Middle East solved the first, urgent problems on the ground. By ensuring a steady flow of supplies for the Third Army and the town of Suez, it removed the risk of an immediate resumption of warfare, giving all parties a breather and time to deliberate on what the next step should be. There were essentially two approaches. The first, officially favoured by both superpowers, was that an international conference should be convened in Geneva in order to negotiate a comprehensive solution to the Middle East problem. This strategy had been agreed upon between the United States and the Soviet Union during Kissinger’s visit to Moscow on 21 October 1973. The second solution, the one Kissinger really favoured, was to pursue a ‘step-by-step’ approach, aiming at incremental progress, beginning with military disengagement between Egypt and Israel as well as Syria and Israel.
