Seen against the background of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between Brezhnev and Nixon talks, the Damansky incident could serve the double purpose of undermining the Soviet image of a peaceloving country if the Soviets chose to respond by a massive military operation against the invaders. If they demonstrated Soviet weakness, the Chinese attack could have been left without response. The killing of Soviet servicemen on the border signaled to the US that China had graduated into high politics and was ready to talk.