Another setback for Soviet-American relations: US President Reagan, believing he is speaking off the record, warms up for a radio address with the following remarks, which are however recorded by the sound engineers: "My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."
17 August
1984
CPSU leaders summon the SED leadership to Moscow. Honecker, Hager, Axen and Mielke are confronted by Konstantin Chernenko as interim General Secretary, Mikhail Gorbachev, who is still the agriculture secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Defence Minister Dmitri Ustinov and KGB head Viktor Chebrikov.more
In an interview with the SED’s central mouthpiece, "Neues Deutschland", Erich Honecker takes a stand on alleged "revanchists and extremists" in West Germany: "Socialism in the GDR is irrevocable. Merging socialism and capitalism is as impossible as merging fire and water."