Strategic Arms Limitation Talks

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) Two phases of talks between the USA and the Soviet Union to limit the expansion of nuclear weapons. The talks began in 1969 between Lyndon B. Johnson and Leonid Brezhnev. In 1972, Richard Nixon and Brezhnev signed SALT I. This agreement limited anti-ballistic missile systems and produced an interim accord on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). A second phase of meetings between Gerald Ford and Brezhnev resulted in an agreement (1974) to limit ballistic missile launchers. SALT II, signed in Vienna between Jimmy Carter and Brezhnev, banned new ICBMs and limited other launchers. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan meant the US Senate never ratified the treaty. Nevertheless, the two superpowers observed its terms until Ronald Reagan began to increase the US nuclear arsenal. In 1986 START (Strategic Arms Reduction Talks) between Mikhail Gorbachev and Reagan superseded SALT. START ushered in a new era of disarmament.

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