To what extent did Khrushchev help diffuse the Cold War up to 1960?

Although Khrushchev could not be consistent in all of his foreign policies during 1953 to 1960, his involvement in the Cold War was instrumental to the eventual full diffusion of tension between the United States and the USSR. He made his intentions of ending monolithic communism, reducing army costs and promoting a "peaceful co-existence" clear when he came into power, and the inconsistencies in action can be largely attributed to the response and influence of the West …

…Western party's distrust and unwillingness to cooperate, the Cold War did not thaw. Yet even though the West and Communist Russia did not seem to reconciliate and the Cold War grew worse and was right on the brink of becoming a nuclear Third World War later on during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the seven years in question did illustrate the fact that the Cold War was perpetuated and fed by misunderstanding, fear and historical resentment.