Reykjavik

Summit meeting held in October 1986 between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, the aim of which was to discuss the placing of limitations on the strategic arms of each nation. Following a summit meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, in November 1985, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met in Reykjavik, Iceland, to discuss the possibility of strategic arm reductions. Only the second meeting between the two world leaders, they approached the talks with diverse agendas.

Reagan staked his presidency on his commitment to opposing the Soviet Union at every opportunity. The White House believed that American supremacy was key to U.S. survival, and it was thought that an accelerated arms race would cause irreparable harm and place tremendous pressure on a faltering Soviet economy.

Meanwhile, Gorbachev was basing his presidency on the dual reform programs of perestroika and glasnost. For much of its 70 years, the Soviet state towered over the majority of nations in military and industrial might. In its waning decades, however, the Soviet Union was faltering under the strain of its outmoded economic system and industrial infrastructure. To compete against political rivals in the West, the Soviet economy and society would need drastic restructuring.

However, Gorbachev could not afford to continue down the path to reform without assurances about national security. He needed an arms limitation treaty to accomplish this. Reagan, on the other hand, was gradually being perceived as an extremist hard-liner bent on the destruction of the Soviet Union. To allay such fears, Reagan would appear open to negotiations and was thus willing to attend summit meetings.

The two leaders met in Reykjavik from October 11 to October 16 to discuss arms limitations. During the exchange of proposals, it became clear that the sticking point was the space-based missile defense system known as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), or Star Wars, under consideration by the United States. President Reagan refused to limit SDI research and technology to the laboratory. Gorbachev, however, would not accept anything less than a ban on missile testing in space. Despite the failure to reach an agreement on this issue, both sides felt that the meeting was a success and that it opened the way for further progress.

Gorbachev later remarked that he and President Reagan had had real conversations about key issues during the Reykjavik meeting. For this reason, he considered the meeting a turning point in the Cold War.