Moscow Summit (1988)

Moscow Summit
Moscow Summit
	Reagan and Gorbachev ratifying the INF Treaty in the Kremlin Palace
Host country	Soviet Union
Date	May 29 – June 3, 1988
Venue(s)	Kremlin Palace
Cities	Moscow
Participants	Mikhail Gorbachev; Ronald Reagan
Follows	Washington Summit
Precedes	Governors Island Summit

The Moscow Summit was a summit meeting between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev. It was held on May 29, 1988 – June 3, 1988. Reagan and Gorbachev finalized the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) after the U.S. Senate's ratification of the treaty in May 1988. Reagan and Gorbachev continued to discuss bilateral issues like Central America, Southern Africa, the Middle East and the pending withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Reagan and Gorbachev continued their discussions on human rights. The parties signed seven agreements on lesser issues such as student exchanges and fishing rights. A significant result was the updating of Soviet history books, which necessitated cancelling some history classes in Soviet secondary schools.^[1] In the end, Reagan expressed satisfaction with the summit.^[2]

President Reagan's Trip to USSR, Walking in Red Square with Mikhail Gorbachev, Moscow, May 31, 1988

President Ronald Reagan giving a speech at Moscow State University in the USSR, 1988

Reagan and Gorbachev eventually issued a joint statement, of which excerpts are shown here:

The President and the General Secretary view the Moscow summit as an important step in the process of putting U.S.-Soviet relations on a more productive and sustainable basis.^[3]

One ironic instance of the summit was when Reagan gave Gorbachev a copy of the movie Friendly Persuasion, whose screenwriter Michael Wilson got blacklisted in the 1950s due to suspected communist sympathies.^[4]

References

^ Fein, Esther B. (31 May 1988). "Moscow Summit: Unmaking History and Debating Rights; Soviet Pupils Spared Exams While History is Rewritten". The New York Times. Vol. 137, no. 47522. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024.
^ Roberts, Steven V. (2 June 1988). "Reagan Says He Was Moved by Contacts with Russians". The New York Times. Vol. 137, no. 47524. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024.
^ "Joint Document: 'Realistic Approach' to Reducing Nuclear Risk". The New York Times. Vol. 137, no. 47524. 2 June 1988. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024.
^ "Moscow Summit; Reagan's Gift Recalls Hollywood Blacklist". The New York Times. Vol. 137, no. 47524. 2 June 1988. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024.

[1] Fein, Esther B. (31 May 1988). "Moscow Summit: Unmaking History and Debating Rights; Soviet Pupils Spared Exams While History is Rewritten". The New York Times. Vol. 137, no. 47522. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024.

[2] Roberts, Steven V. (2 June 1988). "Reagan Says He Was Moved by Contacts with Russians". The New York Times. Vol. 137, no. 47524. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024.

[3] "Joint Document: 'Realistic Approach' to Reducing Nuclear Risk". The New York Times. Vol. 137, no. 47524. 2 June 1988. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024.

[4] "Moscow Summit; Reagan's Gift Recalls Hollywood Blacklist". The New York Times. Vol. 137, no. 47524. 2 June 1988. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024.

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See also

References