Joe Biden in USSR 1979

The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union, the Cold War superpowers, on the issue of arms control. The two rounds of talks and agreements were SALT I and SALT II.

Joe Biden became a U.S. senator in 1972 and visited the USSR a year later in 1973. Six years later, in August 1979, he returned on an official visit. His destination in the Soviet Union was Leningradand the purpose was to convince fellow American Senators to support the strategic arms reduction deal between the U.S. and the USSR.