Shortly after his election as president in 1960, Kennedy chose Cooper to conduct a then-secret mission to Moscow and New Delhi to assess the attitudes of the Soviet government for the new administration. Kennedy and Cooper had served together on the Senate Labor Committee and maintained a social friendship. On the mission, Cooper discovered that the Soviets disliked Kennedy and Nixon equally. Cooper concluded in his report to Kennedy that there was little potential for harmonious relations with the Soviets. After meeting with Secretary Khrushchev, Kennedy confirmed to Cooper that his report had been correct and confessed that he should have taken it even more seriously. Cooper supported Kennedy's decision to resume nuclear weapons testing after the Soviets resumed their testing in March 1962, but he urged Kennedy to negotiate an agreement with the Soviets if possible.