The Unknown Peace Agreement: How the HelsinkiGenevaViennaParis Negotiations of the CSCE Produced the Final Peace Agreement and Concluded World War Two in Europe

The Joint Declaration of Twenty-two States, signed in Paris in 1990, is the closest document to a peace treaty ending World War II in Europe. It was negotiated quietly after Germany's reunification and in view of Soviet interest in normalizing relations. The treaty was overshadowed by the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe and has remained unnoticed since then.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 120 pages
Publication date: 29 March 2022
Publisher: ibidem-Verlag, Jessica Haunschild u Christian Schon

The Joint Declaration of Twenty-two States, signed in Paris on November 19, 1990, by the Chiefs of State or Government of all the countries that participated in World War II in Europe, is the closest document we will ever have to a true peace treaty concluding the war in Europe. In his new book, retired United States Ambassador John Maresca, who led the American participation in the negotiations, explains how this document was quietly negotiated following Germany's reunification and in view of Soviet interest in normalizing their relations with Europe. With Germany's reunification, which had just taken place, it was possible for the first time since the end of the war to have a formal agreement that the war was over. The countries concerned were all gathering for a summit-level signing ceremony in Paris. With Gorbachev interested in more positive relations with Europe, and with Germany's formal reunification, such an agreement was possible for the first time. All the leaders coming to the Paris summit had an interest in a formal conclusion to the War, and this gave impetus for the negotiators in Vienna to draft a document intended to normalize relations among them. The Joint Declaration was carefully negotiated and privately among the Ambassadors representing the countries that had participated, in one way or another, in World War II in Europe, and the resulting document, the Joint Declaration, was signed at the summit level at the Elysée Palace in Paris. But it was overshadowed at the time by the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, signed at the same signature event, and has remained unnoticed since then. No one could possibly have foreseen that the USSR would be dissolved about one year later, making it impossible to negotiate.

Dimension: 21 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783838216324