This Day in History (3rd December 1989)

Bush and Gorbachev suggest Cold War is coming to an end

Meeting off the coast of Malta, President George Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev issue statements strongly suggesting that the long-standing animosities at the core of the Cold War might be coming to an end. Commentators in both the United States and Russia went farther and declared that the Cold War was over.

The talks were part of the first-ever summit held between the two leaders. (…)  The Russian leader stated, «The characteristics of the Cold War should be abandoned.» He went on to suggest that, «The arms race, mistrust, psychological and ideological struggle, all those should be things of the past.» Bush was somewhat more restrained in his statement: «With reform underway in the Soviet Union, we stand at the threshold of a brand-new era of U.S.-Soviet relations. It is within our grasp to contribute each in our own way to overcoming the division of Europe and ending the military confrontation there.»

Despite the positive spin of the rhetoric, though, little of substance was accomplished during the summit. Both sides agreed to work toward a treaty dealing with long-range nuclear weapons and conventional arms in 1990. Gorbachev and Bush also agreed that another summit would take place in June 1990, in Washington D.C,.

From: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bush-and-gorbachev-suggest-cold-war-is-coming-to-an-end

This day in History (19th November, 1985)

Reagan and Gorbachev hold their first summit meeting

 

Reagan-Gorbachov

For the first time in eight years, the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United Stateshold a summit conference. Meeting in Geneva, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev produced no earth-shattering agreements. However, the meeting boded well for the future, as the two men engaged in long, personal talks and seemed to develop a sincere and close relationship.
The meeting came as somewhat of a surprise to some in the United States, considering Reagan’s often incendiary rhetoric concerning communism and the Soviet Union, but it was in keeping with the president’s often stated desire to bring the nucleararms race under control. For Gorbachev, the meeting was another clear signal of his desire to obtain better relations with the United States so that he could better pursue his domestic reforms.
Little of substance was accomplished. Six agreements were reached, ranging from cultural and scientific exchanges to environmental issues. Both Reagan and Gorbachev, however, expressed satisfaction with the summit, which ended on November 21. The next summit was held in October 1986 in Reykjavik and ended somewhat disastrously, with Reagan’s commitment to the Strategic Defense Initiative (the so-called «Star Wars» missile defense system) providing a major obstacle to progress on arms control talks. However, by the time of their third summit in Washington, D.C. in 1987, both sides made concessions in order to achieve agreement on a wide range of arms control issues.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/reagan-and-gorbachev-hold-their-first-summit-meeting