The soviet leaders during this period focused almost entirely on their relations with the united states, with whom they felt that a broad strategic parity had been achieved that was only marginally affected by the Chinese factor. As long as the soviet leader thought that the united states sought détente and stability they concluded that the Americans would resist Chinese efforts to transform the dynamics of tripolarity into an anti-soviet united front. Only when the united states abandoned détente in president garter’s last year did the soviet leaders believe that Washington had combined with Beijing against them. In other words, even then the soviet leaders saw tripolarity as a function of bipolar relations between Moscow and Washington. It was not until 1982, when the soviet union was bogged down in Afghanistan and demonstrably in a weakening position compared to the united states, which was engaged in a rapid military build-up, that the soviet leaders responded positively to earlier Chinese initiatives to improve relations.