Page "Glassboro Summit Conference" Paragraph 4

On 5 June 1967 the Six-Day War began between Israel and the Arab states.

The war led to an increase in Soviet-US diplomatic contact and cooperation ; there were some who hoped this could continue to help the US solve the Vietnam war and other pressing international issues.

Several days later the Soviet Union sent Premier Alexei Kosygin to New York to hold a speech on the then-ongoing Middle Eastern crisis at the United Nations headquarters.

When the United States government was informed of this the Americans gladly welcomed Kosygin to a meeting between him and President Lyndon B. Johnson.

On 13 June 1967 Johnson sought out J. William Fulbright, a Senator, at a White House reception.

Llewellyn Thompson, then US ambassador to the USSR, believed that a conference could " start the process of moving toward an understanding with the Soviets ".

Fulbright even believed that Johnson was reconsidering his Vietnam strategy.

Later Fulbright wrote two letters to Johnson about the importance of a summit between the two nations.

Johnson agreed, and wrote a letter in return, which said they were waiting for a Soviet response for US invitation.

Walt Rostow, the National Security Advisor at the time, said it was a 20 percent chance of the summit having a good effect on Soviet-US relations, and only a 10 percent chance of the summit going awry.