1989. The end of the Cold War

30 years ago, on December 3, 1989, US President George W. Bush and General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail Gorbachev announced the end of the Cold War at a joint press conference in Malta. This happened 24 days after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Gorbachev declared: "The world is leaving one era and entering a new one. We are at the beginning of a long journey. This is the path to an era of lasting peace. Threats of violent actions, distrust, psychological and ideological struggle - all this must now sink into eternity ... I assured President of the United States that I will never go to war against the United States." Bush responded by reassuring his Soviet partner: "We can realize the idea of ​​a lasting peace and achieve reliable cooperation in relations between East and West. It was here in Malta that Chairman Gorbachev and I laid the foundation for such a future."

At the Malta summit, agreements in principle were reached on the non-interference of the USSR in the affairs of the Eastern European countries, Gorbachev agreed in principle to the unification of Germany and made an informal promise not to use force against the Popular Fronts in the Baltic countries, which was violated in 1991, when Riga and Vilnius riot police and the Alpha group.