The Geneva Summit of 1955 was a Cold War-era meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

Held on July 18, 1955,

it was a meeting of "The Big Four": President Dwight D. Eisenhower of the United States, Prime Minister
Anthony Eden of Britain, Premier Nikolai A. Bulganin of the Soviet Union, and Prime Minister Edgar
Faure of France.[1] They were accompanied by the foreign ministers of the four powers (who were also
members of the Council of Foreign Ministers): John Foster Dulles, Harold Macmillan, Vyacheslav
Molotov, and Antoine Pinay. Also in attendance was Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union.

The purpose was to bring together world leaders to begin discussions on peace.[2] Although those
discussions led down many different roads (arms negotiations, trade barriers, diplomacy, nuclear
warfare, etc.), the talks were influenced by the common goal for increased global security.[3]

Mission Edit

The stated mission of the 1955 summit was to reduce international tensions. The Geneva Summit was
seen as an extremely important building block to better friendships and more open communication
between the leaders of "The Big Four".[4] The creation of an international community was introduced as
a way to help relieve global tensions and mistrust. This community would form the critical foundation of
a unified world in which minimal barriers to trade and common interests would serve to engender
diplomacy.[5]

Topics such as East-West trade agreements, tariffs, the arms race, international security and
disarmament policy were all addressed to some extent.[6] The most significant proposal made by
President Eisenhower was his "Open Skies" plan, which called for an international aerial monitoring
system.[7] The intent of this policy was to prevent nations from stockpiling dangerous weapons, and
eventually lead to the disarmament of all weapons of mass destruction. Surprisingly, one goal that
American political advisers had for the conference was to not make any specific promises or guarantees
to the Soviets. In the past, Soviet leaders have misinterpreted American suggestions as whole-hearted
promises later on, which could serve to bring more division instead of unity. Since this meeting was the
first of its kind, the seeds of unification needed to be planted, nothing else.[8]

The issue of East-West trade agreements was one that needed to be discussed very delicately.[6] All
previous East-West trade agreement talks had been anything but diplomatic. In the past, trade
agreements had always been an occasion for discourse and heated arguments. Neither the UK nor the
U.S. was willing to share control of their trading spheres unless there were obvious strategic advantages
of doing so. Nations were at a standstill because no one was willing to compromise for the good of the
worldwide community. The problem with peace talks is that although each nation knows the importance
and benefits of peace, there is never enough mutual trust to ensure the success of such talks.[3] The
talks in Geneva helped break the ice and introduce nations to the benefits of global free trade. Also,
simply by meeting and talking, the leaders were able to develop relationships and have an optimistic
outlook on a peaceful and cooperative future.