Moscow Treaty
The Moscow Treaty was signed on August 12, 1970 between the Soviet Union and the Federal Republic of Germany in the Katharinensaal of the Kremlin in Moscow ( Federal Law Gazette 1972 II p. 354 ff.).
content
In the Moscow Treaty, both countries undertake to maintain international peace and promote the détente process so that the situation in Europe can normalize.
In doing so, they want to be guided by the Charter of the United Nations and resolve their conflicts peacefully. In this sense, the two states undertake to respect the existing borders of the European states and not to raise any territorial claims against anyone.
In particular, the Oder-Neisse line as the western border of the People's Republic of Poland and the border between the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany are declared inviolable. The contract was signed for the Federal Republic by Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt and Foreign Minister Walter Scheel , for the USSR by Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin and Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko .
ratification
In connection with the signing, Scheel handed the letter on German unity to his Soviet counterpart . Apart from the closing formula, this consisted of a single sentence:
“Dear Minister, in connection with today's signing of the treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany has the honor to state that this treaty does not contradict the political aim of the Federal Republic of Germany To work towards a state of peace in Europe in which the German people can regain their unity through free self-determination . Please accept, Minister, the assurance of my highest respect. Walter Scheel "
In receiving this letter, the Soviet leadership accepted, as it were, that the federal government was still sticking to the goal of a peaceful reunification of the Germans . The 6th German Bundestag ratified the treaty on May 17, 1972 together with the Warsaw Treaty . After exchanging the instruments of ratification , it came into force on June 3, 1972.
After signing
The 1972 Bundestag election took place on November 19, 1972 . The SPD received - with a turnout of 91.1 percent - 45.8 percent of the vote (3.1 percentage points more than at the general election in 1969 ); the FDP received 8.4 percent (2.6 percentage points more than 1969). This was the highest share of the vote that the SPD ever achieved (as of 2019).
This election result can be interpreted as the approval of considerable parts of the population for Brandt and Scheel's Ostpolitik or the Brandt II government .
See also
literature
- Valentin Falin : Political Memories. Droemer Knaur, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-426-26657-1 .
- Werner Link : The Origin of the Moscow Treaty in the Light of New Archives. In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte (VfZ) 49, 2001, pp. 295–315 ( PDF; 9.5 MB ).
- Helmut Steinberger : International law aspects of the German-Soviet treaty from August 12, 1970. In: Journal for foreign public law and international law (ZaöRV) 1971, p. 63 ff. ( PDF ).
Web links
- Treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ("Moscow Treaty") dated August 12, 1970 (wording)
- German Historical Museum : Moscow, Warsaw, Prague
- Gottfried Niedhart: Approval and Irritations: The Western Powers and German Ostpolitik 1969/70 (PDF)
- Agreement on the German-Soviet Treaty of August 12, 1970 (PDF)