President-Elect Bush Informs Mikhail Gorbachev of His Need for Time to Formulate New Policies

Soviet-American relations thawed during the second term of President Ronald Reagan as he and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev developed a personal rapport, signed the first treaty between the superpowers to reduce nuclear weapons arsenals, the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and moved forward on further arms negotiations. In December 1988, Gorbachev delivered what he called a “watershed” address at the United Nations, announcing that he planned unilaterally to reduce Soviet military forces by 500,000, cut conventional armaments massively, and withdraw substantial numbers of armaments and troops from Eastern European countries. Gorbachev spoke of freedom, individual rights, and national self-determination, declaring that “the use of threat or force no longer can or must be an instrument of foreign policy.” Following the speech, Gorbachev met with Reagan and President-elect George H. W. Bush before quickly returning home after learning of a devastating earthquake in Armenia. Subsequently, Bush’s son Jeb and grandson traveled to Armenia with an American relief organization, as noted in the following letter that Bush sent to Gorbachev shortly before his inauguration. Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger delivered the letter, having offered to serve as a “back channel” envoy to discretely work out a policy with the Soviets concerning the future of Eastern Europe that would serve the interests of both powers. The Bush administration eventually decided not to entrust diplomacy to Kissinger or to continue on the path laid out by Reagan, one that some of Bush’s advisers considered foolhardy in its movement away from nuclear deterrence. In February, Bush ordered a “strategic review” to help determine his own course. What became known as “the pause” in US-Soviet relations lasted until the spring, leading Gorbachev to charge that momentum for negotiations was dissipating.