Alliance disruption offered Moscow a potential reward: driving Britain or France away from NATO would weaken the Western coalition. Intervention could also present the Soviet Union as a reliable partner for states resisting Western pressure. Success would improve Soviet influence in Europe and the Middle East while supporting an anti-imperial message. Soviet leaders might still underestimate capable Anglo-French forces because they regarded them as declining imperial powers.
Notable Point · 31:28-32:44
What Moscow could gain by intervening
Soviet intervention promised political gains by dividing NATO, demonstrating support for anti-colonial states, and expanding influence in Europe and the Middle East.