The Soviet Union and the Creation of the IAEA

The Soviet Union responded skeptically to Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace speech in December 1953. Nevertheless in September 1954 it decided to engage in talks with the United States on the peaceful uses of atomic energy. In 1955 it concluded agreements with the socialist countries (including China) to help them engage in nuclear research; it took an active part in the August 1955 Geneva conference on the peaceful uses of atomic energy; it held negotiations with the United States on ways to prevent the peaceful uses of atomic energy from leading to the production of nuclear weapons; and in July 1955 it agreed to join the negotiations on the Statute of the IAEA. The paper explores the reasons for this shift in policy and the influence of the earlier UN AEC negotiations on Soviet attitudes to international control of atomic energy. (author)