In preparation for the inaugural American-Russian Student Conference on Nuclear Disarmament, Pavel Palazhchenko, assistant to President Gorbachev, asked participants to read the 1985 Joint Soviet-United States Statement on the Summit Meeting in Geneva. One line from the Joint Statement became an overarching thesis for many of our discussions: “…nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”. 45 years after the conclusion of the Geneva Summit, this simple yet powerful phrase acted as a unifier between the United States and Russian delegations. 

Our 2-day conference facilitated many complex discussions on the future of US-Russo relations and nuclear disarmament.  The to and fro of our debates was kept civilized by the stasis point provided by the Joint Statement. All attendees acknowledged the catastrophic impacts of nuclear detonation, the risk of miscalculation, and the need to avoid a nuclear exchange at all possible costs. When any disagreements broke out about how to solve this issue, we were reminded of our unified goal and it made compromise easier. Gorbachev and Reagan set an excellent example for how agreement is possible when both parties both fully understand the magnitude of the issue they seek to address, and continuously remind themselves of their shared interest. Going forward, US and Russian leaders could use this model established 45 years ago to work through issues and establish amicable relations.