Afghanistan in British-Soviet Relations May 1980 – December 1981

The Soviet Union intervened in Afghanistan on 27 December 1979, which Britain saw as a threat to the expansion of Soviet influence in Central and South Asia. The failure to unite the Western front against the Soviet Union made Britain believe that it was difficult to accept the need to sacrifice political and economic relations with the Soviet Union. Although Britain began talks with the Soviet Union in May 1980, the imposition of martial law in Poland with Soviet intervention in December 1981 caused problems for Britain about the best way to deal with the Soviets over Afghanistan, and that this dealing represented a new stage in British-Soviet relations.