Washington, DC - The Department of State released today Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XX, Eastern Europe.

This volume is part of a Foreign Relations subseries that documents the most important foreign policy issues of the Jimmy Carter administration. The focus of this volume is on U.S. policy toward the Communist countries of Eastern Europe, except Poland. Documentation on Poland will be published in a separate volume.

The volume illustrates the Carter administration’s efforts to transform the long-standing U.S. policy of differentiation between Eastern European nations by including human rights performance in its policy assessment. This allowed for a warming of relations with countries that exhibited internally liberal policies, even if its foreign policy continued to be viewed as subservient to Soviet interests. The administration continued to support Romania as a Communist-bloc critic of the Soviet Union, despite strained relations over a series of high-profile defections, and planned for support of Yugoslavia’s integrity and sovereignty after the death of Josip Broz Tito. U.S. relations with Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and the German Democratic Republic remained distant throughout the administration, but the modified policy of differentiation led to the return of the Crown of St. Stephen to Hungary. The administration also expanded broadcasting toward Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, especially following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

This compilation was compiled and edited by Carl Ashley and Mircea Munteanu. The volume and this press release are available on the Office of the Historian website at http://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1977-80v20. Copies of the volume will be available for purchase from the U.S. Government Printing Office online at http://bookstore.gpo.gov (GPO S/N 044-000-02674-1; ISBN 978-0-16-093115-4), or by calling toll-free 1-866-512-1800 (D.C. area 202-512-1800). For further information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..