Switzerland Laos Conference Geneva, 1961 (b/w photo)

The International Geneva Conference on Laos brings all the parties involved in the Laotian civil war - which had escalated in 1958 - to the negotiating table. The Russian delegation arrives in May 1961 at the airport in Geneva-Cointrin. In the first row from right to left wearing a has Rene Leyuvaz, Geneva's police chief; with his hands in the pockets of his coat Nicola Koroinine, the USSR's ambassador in Geneva; behind him an interpreter; speaking at the microphone is foreign minister Andrej Gromyko; Semjon Tsarapkin, Soviet diplomat; Robert Kohli, secretary-general from Berne; Rene Helg, justice and police chief of the city of Geneva; Andre Tombet, Geneva's city council president with a. In the very front wearing glasses Gilbert Blondel, chief director of Photopress' offices in Geneva.