Finally came the concern about West s reaction. The Russians calculated that if the invasion would have any effect on d tente or the talks with US about the reduction of strategic arms (which were to come near in the future), this would be very short-lived. Czechoslovakia remained in the Russian sphere of influence. At the point US was more concerned with the war in Vietnam, and the elections that were to come that year.
Although there seemed to be a share of hesitation among the Politburo members, the decision to stop the reforms by force was reached. Looking at the factors that led USSR towards the invasion, perhaps this was no surprise. It seems like there wasn t really an alternative, especially taking into the account the immediate circumstances that led to it. The Soviet leadership chose to resort to repression rather than to bow to reform .