ABSTRACT
In late May 1986, we discussed the new role of Soviet diplomacy at a conference held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . . . The Minister of Foreign Affairs [Shevardnadze] made a speech which was then discussed by the participants, and I later addressed the conference. The gist of my speech was the lagging behind of our international agencies, which did not keep up with the policies and practical steps undertaken by the country’s political leadership. Today I consider this meeting the starting point for the full scale implementation of our ‘new thinking’.
