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The Malta Summit comprised a meeting between U.S. President George H. W. Bush and U.S.S.R. leader Mikhail Gorbachev, taking place between December 2-3, 1989, just a few weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was their second meeting following a meeting that included then President Ronald Reagan, in New York in December 1988. During the summit, Bush and Gorbachev would declare an end to the Cold War, although whether it was truly such is a matter of debate. News reports of the time referred to the Malta Summit as the most important since 1945, when British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet premier Joseph Stalin and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed on a post-war plan for Europe at Yalta. == Summit highlights == Brent Scowcroft and other members of the US administration were initially concerned that the proposed Malta Summit would be "premature", and that it would generate high expectations but result in little more than Soviet grandstanding. However, French President François Mitterrand, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, other European leaders and key members of the US Congress prevailed upon President Bush to meet with Chairman Gorbachev.〔("An Interview with Dr. Condoleezza Rice (17/12/97)" )〕 No agreements were signed at the Malta Summit. Its main purpose was to provide the two superpowers — the United States and the Soviet Union — with an opportunity to discuss the rapid changes taking place in Europe with the lifting of the Iron Curtain, which had separated the Eastern Bloc from Western Europe for four decades. The summit is viewed by some observers as the official end of the Cold War. At a minimum, it marked the lessening of tensions that were the hallmark of that era, and signaled a major turning point in East-West relations. During the summit, President Bush expressed his support for Gorbachev's ''perestroika'' initiative, and other reforms in the Communist bloc. At the summit as a token the President of the United States George Bush presented all participants of the conference a piece of the Berlin Wall. This was gathered on a Presidential mission where two pilots and 4 soldiers with sledgehammers were sent to Berlin where 400 pounds were collected. 200 pounds were given to the President, and 200 pounds given to members of the 207th Aviation Company. Speaking at a joint news conference, the Soviet leader announced:
In reply, President Bush said:
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Malta Summit」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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