The Pen of Peace: SALT II and the Bic Cristal

In the world of global diplomacy, the most powerful tools are often the ones we

overlook entirely. This is the Bic Cristal, a twenty cent instrument that became

the unexpected architect of international peace. On June 18, 1979, in Vienna,

this modest pen was used to sign the SALT II treaty. As the blue

ink flowed onto the page, it signaled a historic shift in the Cold War

landscape. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks sought to curb the manufacture of strategic

nuclear weapons between superpowers. The impact was measurable, leading to a

twenty-five percent reduction in nuclear arsenals over the following fifteen years. It is a