Due to his former membership in the Duma, Tsereteli was appointed to the Soviet on 21 March in an advisory role. At his first meeting he argued that Russia should strive to defend itself, calling defence "one of the fundamentals of the revolution". He stated that both the country and the revolution had to be defended from the German Empire, but also that the Soviet should pressure the Provisional Government to negotiate a peace, one that recognized self-determination and did not include annexation. This policy would soon be given the name "Revolutionary Defensism". Tsereteli led the Soviet side in negotiations with the Provisional Government to have the no-annexation policy adopted, in the process showing that he had effectively become a leader within the Soviet. Tsereteli was not seeking an increased role for himself, nor did he want the Soviet to become a power-base, but simply a representative body of the workers and soldiers.