[[Leonid Brezhnev]] was a prominent political figure in the [[Soviet Union]] who played a significant role in Middle Eastern affairs during the 1970s, particularly in relation to [[Israel]] and the Arab states. ### 1972 Meeting with Golda Meir In 1972, Brezhnev met with [[Golda Meir]], then Prime Minister of [[Israel]], in [[Finland]]. During this meeting, [[Golda Meir|Meir]] rejected his proposal for a comprehensive peace settlement in the [[Middle East]].[^1] ### Intelligence Operations and War Implications This meeting, along with the [[Soviet Union|Soviets]] bugging [[Golda Meir|Meir's]] office (discovered by [[Reuben Yirador]] of [[Unit 8200]]), informed [[Anwar Sadat]] of [[Israel|Israel's]] attitude and may have prompted the 1973 war.[^1] ### 1973 Yom Kippur War Threats During the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]], as the continued encirclement of the Egyptian Third Army by Israeli forces escalated, Soviet party leader [[Leonid Brezhnev]] increased the alert status of his airborne divisions and warned the White House that unless [[Israel]] stopped violating the cease-fire, "we should be faced with the necessity urgently to consider the question of taking appropriate steps unilaterally." The implication was that Brezhnev would send troops as a blocking force behind the front lines in [[Egypt]] to prevent the Israelis from advancing on [[Cairo]].[^2] ### Footnotes [^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. _Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network_. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War") [^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. _The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy_. Random House, 1991. Chapter 17.