Helsinki Summit (1990)

President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev were officially acquainted at the Geneva Summit in 1985.[4] Building off of previous SALT II negotiations between President Jimmy Carter and General Secretary Lenoid Brezhnev, the two leaders began formal negotiations to establish Nuclear Risk Reduction Centers.[4] In addition, the leaders discussed a potential plan to eliminate nuclear weapons[5] and inhibit an arms race in space between the United States and Soviet Union.[6] Gorbachev and Reagan called for decisive action on mutually agreed upon issues, particularly on the reduction in nuclear arms for both the United States and the Soviet Union.[7] The summit's negotiations bolstered the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START I), which began in 1981 and thus initiated the possibility of nuclear arsenal reductions.[4] Furthermore, the leaders agreed to the establishment of an interim Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) agreement.[4]

President Ronald Reagan and Vice President Bush Meet with Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev on Governors Island New York in 1988

In subsequent summits— Reykjavik Summit (1986), Washington Summit (1987),  Moscow Summit (1988), and Governors Island Summit (1988)—President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev continued to negotiate agreements relating to mutual nuclear disarmament such as the Strategic Defense Initiative, the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) as well as limitations on nuclear testing.[4]

The Malta Summit in December 1989 represented a significant step forward in the development of US-Soviet relations, as explicitly mentioned by President Bush during the Helsinki Summit's press conference.[3] As a result of the summit, President Bush and President Gorbachev had agreed to initiate a significant reduction in ground troops in Europe, as well as a reduction in weaponry. However, despite garnering theoretical support by both Presidents, the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) and Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START I) treaties wouldn't be settled until months following the Helsinki Summit.[3] President Bush also stated that the United States would support granting the Soviet Union observer status at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), a Western-dominated international trade organization, which provided the Soviet Union an important access point to trade with West.[8] Mr. Gorbachev proclaimed that the legacy of the Malta Summit was so important, “that if it had not taken place, the world out there would be unrecognisable to the one we live in today” and assured that they will never start a hot war against the United States.[9] The summit was also regarded by some to signify the end to the Cold War and the start of a brand new era in US-Soviet relations.[10]

On August 2, 1990, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, ordered the invasion and occupation of Kuwait.[11] The move would result in the issuance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 660 on the very same day, as well as an international effort to de-escalate the crisis.[3] As two critical members of the United Nations Security Council, and as states with various political and economic interests in the region, the United States and the Soviet Union each had a vested interest in addressing the mounting crisis.[3]

Questions regarding the US' and SU's involvement in the Iraqi situation were among the most prominent questions of the event and were raised by multiple journalists. On the subject, President Bush and President Gorbachev expressed relatively unified views. The Presidents' answers both drew heavily from the joint statement that the two had just released, which called for Iraq to comply with the United Nations Resolution 660 for a peaceful de-escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf.[3] President Bush stated that American military forces will occupy the Persian gulf, "as long as is required", with the intention of withdrawing as soon as possible.[3]

During the conference, the two Presidents were adamant that military intervention was not an option that either leader was willing to discuss to the media. On the subject, President Bush stated that the pair hadn't discussed military options during their meeting and that a diplomatic solution to the Gulf Crisis was the extent to which the US was willing to consider.[3] President Gorbachev echoed this sentiment, claiming that, "the whole of the discussion was for a political solution, which would also compliment the actions already taken by the rest of the international community" and that the Soviet Union would, "limit ourselves to that political solution".[3] Throughout the rest of the conference, both Presidents would reiterate to various members of the press the primacy of a diplomatic solution in their joint efforts to bring the Crisis to a conclusion.

Another notable topic of discussion raised by multiple reporters revolved around the progress of the United States' and the Soviet Union's newfound political and economic cooperation. To the question regarding the state of their relations, President Gorbachev said of the current summit that "this is the test of the durability of the new approach to solving world problems…what we have seen today is that we have confirmed the most important progress in recent time."[3] With regards to President Gorbachev's reorientation of the Soviet Union's economic policies according to the principles of Perestroika and Glasnost, Gorbachev explained that the new economic trajectory of the Soviet Union was one aspect of an overarching intention to engage in amicable relations with the international community on multiple levels:

"This is becoming a normal element of the new kind of cooperation in trade, technology, and human exchange. All of these elements characterize the peaceful period upon which we have just embarked and must get used to."[3]

Two separate questions regarding Palestine were brought into the discussion. One reporter asked about the possibility of the United States and the Soviet Union addressing Palestinian calls for statehood within peace talks with Iraq. Another reporter asked both Presidents about the logic behind their concerted efforts at addressing the UN resolution condemning Iraqi aggression while other UN resolutions condemning aggressions have been left unattended, specifically the UN Resolution 242 which called for a withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Palestinian territories following the 1967 Six-Day War. President Bush's responses indicated that the US considered the Palestinian question of statehood to be distinct from and irrelevant to the Gulf Crisis negotiations. President Bush stated that the US supported the UN Resolution 242 and was "committed to seeing that resolution through, [however] the US will not sit by while a naked aggression against Kuwait is taking place".[3] President Gorbachev responded to the question by acknowledging that there was a "link" between the nature of the Gulf Crisis and the protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and therefore, that the resolution of both crises were of "equal concern" to the Soviet Union.[3]