1986: President Reagan and Gorbachev resolve to remove all intermediate nuclear missiles from Europe

DATE: October 1986

DESCRIPTION: When Gorbachev came to power in the USSR, he realized how futile continuing the Arms Race was and attempted to improve relations with the US in a series of meetings. During the meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland in October 1986, Gorbachev sought to limit the talks to arms control only: he wanted radical reductions (50% of all strategic arms) in the number of strategic missiles held by both sides in exchange for America not implementing the SDI. Reagan refused to budge regarding SDI, and talks stalled and adjourned with no agreements made.

BLAME: This event was mostly caused by Gorbachev, as his willingness to improve relations with the USA led to these series of talks with Reagan; one of which was this meeting in Reykjavik. Both of them agreed to reduce the number of arms on hand in their respective countries, so both Reagan and Gorbachev are responsible for everything that was actually accomplished at the meetings.

TENSION INCREASE: Even though no agreements were made during this event, this meeting managed to improve the relationship between the US and the USSR. The discussions and agreements made here also led to the creation of the intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987, which cut down on arms generally reduced tension between the two countries. It was definitely a step in the direction of peace. -1

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