Originally, Gorbachev appears to have envisaged a gradual process of change in Europe during which both alliances would continue to exist but would lose their predominantly military character and take on increasingly political functions. The alliances, including the Warsaw Pact, were seen as stabilizing mechanism. Soviet analysts argued, for instance, that the Warsaw Pact could play a useful as an instrument for the “controlled and orderly transition” of the two blocs to a lower level of military confrontation and as a means for conducting arms-control negotiations. Others argued that the pact should be maintained, but that it should be transformed into a “mature political partnership” in which all parties enjoyed equal rights. They suggested that the East European role be expanded and that a permanent secretariat be set up in one of the European countries.