Scarcely had the Soviet–German agreement been signed than the Kremlin challenged its newly established modus vivendi with Bonn and initiated a new crisis in East–West relations that sought to alter the status quo. During this conflict, which lasted until the resolution of the Cuban missle crisis in 1962, the focus of East–West tension shifted to West Berlin, whose links to the Federal Republic and protection by the Western Allies became the focus of the unresolved German question. For us to analyze the importance of Soviet–West German relations during the Berlin crisis, it is necessary to examine the disparity in the significance of West Berlin for the two countries. The USSR and the FRG had conflicting interests in Berlin, and both viewed the status of West Berlin as a central issue in their bilateral relations.