As the Soviets dig in, Mitterrand chides them about Sakharov
The 140 guests had sat down at a huge U-shaped table in the Kremlin's frescoed Palace of Facets for the official Soviet banquet in honor of French President Francois Mitterrand. No sooner had the caviar appeared than the traditional toasts began. Soviet Leader Konstantin Chernenko, who had been enjoying hearty laughs with Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, remained seated as he pulled out his prepared text. He began predictably enough by saluting the two countries' longstanding friendship, but then moved into a calibrated criticism of France for supporting NATO's deployment of new...
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