The choice of Munich as the venue for the negotiations was also meaningful. On September 29, 1938, the leaders of the four countries, including British Prime Minister Chamberlain, French Prime Minister Daladier, Nazi Germany's Hitler, and Italy's Mussolini, signed the Munich Treaty at the Munich Conference. In order to avoid the outbreak of war, Britain and France continued to promote the policy of appeasement, sacrificed the interests of Czechoslovakia, and ceded the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany.
On this day in 1991, the leaders of the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, the Soviet Union, Lithuania and Latvia also gathered in this place to discuss the issue of the three Baltic countries. The location of the meeting clearly told the Soviet Union that this meeting was just a formality, a pretense of negotiation so that the Western European countries could back off and give the people an explanation. As for how you deal with the regimes of the Baltic countries, that is your responsibility.
The Soviet Union would certainly respect the decision of Western European countries, so the only ones who had not yet seen the situation clearly were the leaders of the two small countries, Vytautas and Anatoly. They thought they had found a strong backer to deal with the Soviet Union, but they did not know that they had already been clearly marked and thrown out as bargaining chips.
The Western world was wary of the Soviet Union's crude and brutal tactics, so they chose to compromise after their deterrence efforts failed.
Brent also attended the meeting. His goal was not to participate in the discussion, but to secretly observe Yanaev's every move and analyze his character through his behavior in order to understand his opponent. However, Brent also made an unexpected discovery. He found that the young man following Yanaev always looked at him with a not-so-friendly look, a look he had only seen when dealing with CIA agents stationed abroad. A look that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, exposing the darkest secrets deep in their hearts.
"What an interesting young man." Brent touched his chin subconsciously because of nervousness. He decided not to continue observing the guys around Yanaev, but to focus on the negotiation table and wait quietly for the parliament to begin.
Just like all summit meetings, there was always a concluding speech with little substance, and the opportunity to speak was naturally given to US President Bush, who simply celebrated that he was happy that everyone could resolve the dispute at the negotiation table and that he was honored to host this meeting. After listening to these boring and hypocritical speeches, Yanayev was almost drowsy. He glanced at other national leaders who also showed an impatient look.
At this moment, Yanaev felt that it would be much easier to activate the Dead Hand System than to engage in intrigue here. When is it your turn, Americans, to interfere in the internal affairs of the Soviet Union?
"That's enough, Mr. Bush. Your speech was brilliant, but I don't have enough time, so could you cut the crap and get straight to the point? Don't you see that everyone is impatient?" Yanayev asked directly. His answer was brief and rough, even a little rude, and he abruptly stopped Bush from continuing his speech.
"He is impulsive and easily angered. Well, this is a common criticism of Soviet leaders. From Stalin to Khrushchev and later Brezhnev, it seems to be an unsolvable vicious cycle." Brent carefully recorded the data he saw on paper, not knowing that Yanaev, who was sitting opposite him, was also watching his every move intentionally or unintentionally.
He had noticed Brent's name in the parliamentary list provided by the KGB. After reading the information collected by various parties, Yanayev discovered that this think tank figure had once worked as a CIA profiler. So Yanayev deliberately showed an impulsive personality that was inconsistent with his personality at the meeting, in order to make them produce data deviations due to personality problems when analyzing problems. They just like Soviet leaders who can't keep their temper.
"I'm sorry, President Yanaev. It seems that this sincere speech cannot move you." Bush said with a hint of meaning, "Since you don't like a well-intentioned speech, I will get straight to the point. As for the recent unrest in the Baltic Sea, all parties in the world have expressed great concern. We also hope that the prime ministers of the three Baltic countries and the president of the Soviet Union can exercise restraint. We also express great concern about the unfair judgment on the Estonian president, and will continue to follow up on the incident..."
When Bush said this, Vytautas and Anatoly smiled at each other. Bush's words had already shown NATO's attitude and views. Even Yanaev on the opposite side frowned slightly. Bush's remarks were slightly different from what he expected. Could it be that this meeting was really not as simple as imagined?
Bush's next speech was full of twists and turns, which froze the smiles of Vytautas and Anatoly. "Of course, we fully respect the Soviet Union's opinion. We believe that the Baltic Sea is a sacred and inseparable part of the Soviet Union's inherent territory. We hope that the Soviet leaders can give us a satisfactory answer at this meeting."
"President Bush, this is different from what I agreed to do." Anatoly was anxious and began to speak without thinking. "You promised us that NATO would strongly support the three Baltic countries and pay close attention to the threats from the East. How could all this change so suddenly?"
"And you promised to provide us with economic and military assistance once we succeed in independence. Do you intend to go back on your word?" Vytautas stood up and questioned Bush. The expressions on the faces of other national leaders suddenly became much more interesting.
"Ahem." Bush coughed and continued, "Yes, I did say that, but all the issues are based on the premise that the Soviet Union has indisputable sovereignty over the three Baltic countries, so it can pay attention to and investigate domestic human rights issues."
Yanayev watched them expressionlessly as they put sovereignty above human rights. Just when Anatoly was about to argue, he interrupted him and said, "President Anatoly, are you deaf? Or are you not thinking clearly? President Bush has made it very clear that all human rights cannot override sovereignty. Besides, this meeting is a negotiation between me and NATO. Lithuania and Latvia have no right to interrupt. The reason you have a seat at this negotiation table is not because you fought for it, but because we use you as a bargaining chip. Do you understand?"
"Asshole!" Vytautas cursed Yanaev, but to Yanaev, who was used to NATO's military coercion, this curse was as weak as hitting cotton. He insisted, "The fate of small countries is to be played as cards by big countries. Don't talk about international morality and justice. Truth only exists within the range of artillery fire. Unfortunately, the Soviet Union's artillery range in the Baltic Sea is farther than that of other big countries that claim to be fair. Am I right, President Bush?"
Hearing Yanayev's question, Bush smiled awkwardly, while other leaders looked at each other with their eyes and noses, as these were originally "truths" that everyone kept secret. It was really embarrassing to be pointed out directly by the Soviet leader. If NATO had not chosen to be tolerant due to the military pressure from the polar bear, others might have lost their temper on the spot.
"You bunch of cowards, the people of the three Baltic countries and international justice will never forget your history of condoning violent totalitarianism." Vytautas slammed the door and left angrily. Lithuania and Latvia were now occupied by the Soviet army, and with the domestic unrest on all sides, Vytautas and Anatoly could no longer return to their homeland and could only drift around. So before leaving, Vytautas threatened Yanaev, "Don't think that you can scare the people of Lithuania by supporting a brutal puppet regime. We will establish a government in exile overseas and continue to fight you!"
Yanayev curled his lips and said indifferently, "Okay, I'll wait. The last person who threatened us was Hitler, who later committed suicide in the Chancellery of this country. So I have to admit that you, Vytautas, do have the courage to face death."