EAST-WEST TRADE: Tapping Soviet Treasure

At his vacation home on the Black Sea last month, Leonid Brezhnev smiled conspiratorially across a plate of watermelon slices at U.S. Commerce Secretary Peter Peterson. "The Soviet Union has vast treasures for generations to come," the Communist Party boss said, "and we are now prepared to share them with you." He also told a joke about the peasant who bought eggs for two rubles, sold them for two rubles, and exclaimed "I am in business!" Brezhnev's point: the U.S. and the Soviets should not strike a trade bargain merely for the...

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