The Geneva Conference of 1973 was an attempt to negotiate a solution to the Arab–Israeli conflict as envisioned in United Nations Security Council Resolution 338 following the called-for cease-fire to end the Yom Kippur War.
Kissinger articulated his step-by-step strategy and stated that the goal of the conference was peace; the immediate need was to strengthen the cease-fire by accomplishing a disengagement of forces as the "essential first step" toward implementation of UN 242.
By the time of the accession of Anwar Sadat as president (15 October 1970), Egypt was disassociating itself from Arab nationalism and from radical regimes in the region.
The Egyptians' primary goal was to win back the territory they lost in 1967 to Israel in the Six-Day War under president Gamal Abdel Nasser.
[2] The Geneva Conference was the last time that the US accepted the Soviet Union as a co-equal partner in Middle East peace efforts.