Malta Summit + Reunification of Germany

when did Bush win the presidential elections?

Nov 1988

what did Bush do when he came to office?

ordered a review of US policy towards the USSR – he did not take the view that the Cold War was definitely over

what did Bush need to do when he came to office?

needed to reassure right-wing Republicans and to show that he had not simply inherited Regan’s approach and was unthinkingly following it

Arms control negotiations with the USSR resumed…

September 1989

why was it significant that arms negotiations resumed September 1989?

it was at the same time as communism was losing control of Eastern Europe meaning Gorbachev no longer had a position to negotiate from a position of strength

Bush and Gorbachev continued…

their commitment to summit meetings in the hope of finalising START

when was the Malta Summit?

December 1989

what happened at Malta?

No formal agreements were signed as the aim of the summit was to discuss the rapid changed taking place in Eastern Europe & the Soviet economic shift from state-controlled centrally planned economic system.

what was agreed at Malta?

• To end the economic conflict of the Cold War as the USSR became a more market driven economy

• The USSR agreed that it would not use force in Eastern Europe

• The USA agreed that it would not interfere with how Germany wanted to be reunified & that it would not interfere with the Baltic states (Lithuania & Estonia)

The Malta Summit paved the way for…

the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty

when was the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty signed?

November 1990

what did the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty agree?

to limit the military capabilities of the USSR & European countries

what happened July 1991?

Bush met Gorbachev in Moscow & signed START 1 preventing nuclear technology from being passed on to third party states

what did START 1 do to US missile & bomb stocks?

reduced from 12,000 to 9,000

what did START 1 do to USSR missile & bomb stocks?

reduced from 11,000 to 7,000

START 1 capped…

missile launchers and warheads for both superpowers

The future of East & West Germany was of critical global concern as…

it had the potential to upset the balance of power in Europe

West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl wanted…

the reunification of the two German states and also for the united Germany to become a member of NATO

why were the Soviets concerned about the reunification of Germnay?

they saw this as a loss of buffer & part of their sphere of influence

what happened July 1990?

Kohl met with Gorbachev who was reluctant for NATO & its military recourses to expand into East Germany territory. However, this was inevitable as the USSR was in desperate need of financial gain. Gorbachev agreed to remove the Soviet military presence from East Germany & put no restrictions on German sovereignty

when did Germany reunifiy?

October 1990