Embassy of Russia in New Zealand

#InMemoryOfDiplomats 🗓 On July 18, 1909, Andrey Gromyko was born, a statesman and politician, an outstanding Soviet diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR in 1957-1985. Gromyko went down in the history of the Russian diplomatic service as an unwavering defender of our country’s national interests. He was dubbed “Mister No” by his opponents for his firmness in defending Moscow’s positions in the international arena. Andrey Gromyko headed the Soviet diplomatic service for 28 years. During the period of ideological stand-off and tension between NATO and the Warsaw Pact Organization, Gromyko took part in preventing many global conflicts. He pursued a policy of normalizing relations with the United States and the West, advocated disarmament, consolidated post-war borders in Europe, and promoted detente. Gromyko made a hefty contribution to achieving strategic stability between the USSR and the United States: Important disarmament documents were signed that contributed to the detente – the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests (1963), the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1968), the ABM, SALT-I (1972-1973), and SALT-II (1979) treaties. During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Gromyko’s efforts helped reach a compromise and avoid a global nuclear catastrophe. He participated in the Arab-Israeli negotiations in Geneva in 1973, mediated by the USSR and the United States, and helped thwart a large-scale war between India and Pakistan in 1966. Andrey Gromyko is one of the most revered figures in world politics of the 20th century. To this day, his name serves as the personification of the major achievements of Soviet foreign policy in the post-war period. ☝️ Gromyko’s diplomatic legacy continues to maintain the high authority of the Russian diplomatic service. #HistoryOfDiplomacy