[NIXON & BREZHNEV]:

[NIXON & BREZHNEV]:

[NIXON & BREZHNEV]: [NIXON RICHARD] (1913-1994) American President 1969-74 & [BREZHNEV LEONID] (1906-1982) Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union 1964-82. An unsigned original colour 8 x 10 official White House Type I photograph depicting Nixon and Brezhnev standing together in full-length poses on the South Portico of the White House in Washington DC on 18^th June 1973, the two leaders apparently enjoying a light-hearted moment as Brezhnev leans towards Nixon to whisper in his ear. With an official White House credit stamp to the verso. Encased ('slabbed') in clear plastic to an overall size of 9.5 x 13.5 and certified by PSA. VG

Leonid Brezhnev's visit to America took place from 18^th - 25^th June 1973 and the 'Washington Summit' was the second of three highly successful meetings Nixon conducted with the Soviet leader between 1972 and 1974. From the intense negotiations came agreements for increased trade and two landmark arms control treaties: SALT I, the first comprehensive limitation pact signed by the two superpowers, and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which banned the development of systems designed to intercept incoming missiles. This led Nixon and Brezhnev to proclaim a new era of 'peaceful coexistence'.

In one light-hearted moment during the 'Washington Summit', Brezhnev expressed a desire to drive around Washington in a Lincoln Continental that Nixon had just presented him with; upon being told that Secret Service would not allow him to do this Brezhnev replied “I will take the flag off the car, put on dark glasses, so they can't see my eyebrows and drive like any American would” to which Henry Kissinger quipped “I have driven with you and I don't think you drive like an American!”