“Khrushchev’s foreign policy caused confusion and uncertainty.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?

The question requires that candidates consider the merits or otherwise of the statement that Khrushchev’s foreign policy caused anxiety internationally because it was inconsistent. Candidates may agree, partially agree or disagree with the statement. At times Khrushchev appeared to be seeking to improve Cold War relations (peaceful co-existence, co-operation over Vietnam in Geneva and over Suez, or even agreeing to the Test Ban Treaty and the establishment of a “hotline”), but at other times he seemed to be increasing tensions (establishing the Warsaw Pact, events in Hungary in 1956, and the Berlin crisis in 1958), indicating a much harder line. The building of the Berlin Wall and the Cuban crisis caused anxiety in the West regarding Soviet expansion, yet Khrushchev also visited Camp David. Some may argue that he was consistent in trying to maintain the position of the Soviet Union as a superpower.