--- title: Mikhail Gorbachev: My Memories of George H.W. Bush description: Gorbachev writes about his conversations with President George H.W. Bush while ending the Cold War, and warns about the dangers of today canonical: https://time.com/5471437/mikhail-gorbachev-george-hw-bush-war-peace/ author: Mikhail Gorbachev article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-12-05T19:45:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:16:44.604Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Mikhail Gorbachev: George H.W. Bush and I Ended a War Together. But Peace Is Now in Jeopardy og:description: A remembrance by the only President of the USSR og:url: https://time.com/5471437/mikhail-gorbachev-george-hw-bush-war-peace/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt754ed35d3ea05206/6989409c22fb8536a7e274f7/george-hw-bush-gorbachev.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: Gorbachev And Bush og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Mikhail Gorbachev: George H.W. Bush and I Ended a War Together. But Peace Is Now in Jeopardy twitter:description: A remembrance by the only President of the USSR twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt754ed35d3ea05206/6989409c22fb8536a7e274f7/george-hw-bush-gorbachev.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mikhail Gorbachev: George H.W. Bush and I Ended a War Together. But Peace Is Now in Jeopardy > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=1c5be30c-48a7-4772-a173-a8f72b458dc3&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: In Memoriam: George H.W. Bush [Watch (HLS stream): In Memoriam: George H.W. Bush](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Ml94wTOD.m3u8) (4:00)  _Published 2018-12-01. In Memoriam: George H.W. Bush_  by [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://time.com/author/mikhail-gorbachev/)  ## Mikhail Gorbachev Dec 5, 2018 7:45 PM UTC  by [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://time.com/author/mikhail-gorbachev/)  ## Mikhail Gorbachev Dec 5, 2018 7:45 PM UTC On the day when I learned of the passing of [George Bush](http://time.com/5471221/former-presidents-world-leaders-george-hw-bush-funeral/), I recalled my meetings with him that marked turning points in our personal relationship and in the relations between our countries. Our first serious conversation took place in December 1987, when I was on an official visit in Washington. George was then [Vice President](http://time.com/5465248/nicaragua-vice-president-us-sanctions-list/) and running for President. The visit culminated in the signing of the [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty](http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/24370/what-pulling-out-of-the-intermediate-range-nuclear-forces-treaty-means-and-what-comes-next); after, I would depart from an Air Force base. According to the protocol, or perhaps according to his own wish, the Vice President was to accompany me there. George suggested that he go in my car, which was unusual—certainly not according to protocol. Later, on many occasions, we recalled that “conversation in the car.” It went far beyond the usual exchange of pleasantries. We agreed that relations between our [countries](http://time.com/5470530/trump-russia-inf-treaty-nuclear-weapons/) were reaching a new level and that new opportunities were opening up, which must be used to the maximum extent possible. The Vice President assured me that, should he be elected, he would continue what we had started with [President Reagan](http://time.com/5329179/reagan-trump-immigration-ad/). And importantly, we said that, in relations with third countries, we would not undermine each other’s interests. However, after Bush was elected President, there were reports in the U.S. [media](http://time.com/5470965/journalists-threats-press-freedom-article-19-report/) that the new Administration would not be ready to get down to serious work with us right from the start, that it was taking a pause for reflection. Why would the Administration wait? We were receiving all kinds of signals, but it was clear that the hard-liners were increasingly active. Our relations suffered a loss of momentum. We knew that some members of the Administration were pushing Bush to continue to play the waiting game. So the message that came in September 1989 was important: the President was ready to meet at a halfway point, even before the exchange of -official visits. What happened during the Malta summit that December can be described without exaggeration as a historic breakthrough. Against the backdrop of turbulent changes in Central and Eastern Europe and the accelerating process of German unification, including the demolition of the [Berlin Wall](http://time.com/5159847/remembering-the-wall-and-my-own-past-in-berlin/), Bush said, “I would tread cautiously.” He added, “I will not be jumping on the wall, because there is too much at stake.” When the two delegations met, Bush outlined a program of cooperation between our countries in various areas, including disarmament, which was generally constructive. I responded by stating: “The new U.S. President must know that the Soviet Union will not under any circumstances initiate a war … Moreover, the USSR is prepared to no longer consider the U.S. as an enemy and announce this openly.” This was not an off-the-cuff remark, but instead a position approved by the [Soviet](http://time.com/5386789/red-terror-soviet-history/) leadership. Our conversation with the U.S. President continued in that spirit. The Malta summit drew a final line under the [Cold War](http://time.com/5467258/trump-xi-g20-economy/). This became clear when the events in Central and Eastern Europe and the process of German unification acquired an even greater speed. Working together, we succeeded in keeping them on a peaceful track. **A few months later** came another test: [Saddam Hussein’s](http://time.com/5205636/saddam-image-iraq-anniversary/) invasion of Kuwait, and his regime’s attempt to annex that country. This crisis proved that the Cold War was a thing of the past. The Soviet Union and the United States took a principled stand. The aggression was reversed, but there was no U.S. occupation of Iraq, no “regime change.” All of this was taking place even as events in my [country](http://time.com/5191433/mikhail-gorbachev-nuclear-weapons-trump-putin-russia/), as it transitioned to democracy and market economics, took a dramatic turn. My step-by-step approach to reform was being attacked from various sides—not just by those who wanted to stop the democratic process and turn back the clock but also by separatists seeking to dismember the country and supported by hotheads in Russia. In these circumstances, it was very important for me to get a clear idea of the intentions of the United States. I put the question bluntly when I met with the President in London in July 1991, during the [G-7](http://time.com/5307314/donald-trump-angela-merkel-g-7-photograph/) meeting, to which the President of the USSR was invited for the first time. “I believe,” Bush replied, “that your success is in line with the profound interests of the United States. It is in our interest to see you work out the problems of relations with the republics. The demise of the Soviet Union would not be in our interests.” Though at the G-7 meeting our Western partners failed to take concrete steps to support the transformations in the Soviet Union, I took the [remarks](http://time.com/5468753/george-hw-bush-jon-meacham/) of George Bush seriously. During his visit to the Soviet Union a little more than two weeks later, we had a serious and far-reaching discussion. We not only signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty but held an unprecedented discussion of a future international security system, to be created by common [efforts](http://time.com/4754901/president-george-hw-bush-accomplishments/). That prospect, however, was scuttled by the attempted coup d’état in the USSR in August 1991\. The coup, organized by reactionary forces, failed, but it weakened my position as the USSR President. We were not able to preserve the Union. **I vividly remember** our talk on the phone on Dec. 25, a few hours before I announced that I was stepping down from the [presidency](http://time.com/4343154/mikhail-gorbachev-the-new-russia/) of the Soviet Union. We reviewed the results of our cooperation. Our main accomplishment was our agreement to destroy thousands of nuclear weapons, both strategic and tactical. Together, we helped to end conflicts in various parts of the world. We laid the groundwork for a partnership between our countries. Those historic results are now in jeopardy. The world is on the brink of a new confrontation and a [new arms race](http://time.com/5338658/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-summit-nuclear-deal/). [George](http://time.com/5254028/george-hw-bush-dying-aging-quotes/) and I, having left government, often discussed the alarming trends that threaten world peace. We sometimes differed in our assessment of the events but we agreed on one thing: the end of the Cold War was not a victory of one side over another. It was the result of joint efforts. Today, only joint efforts can avert a new confrontation and the threat of a devastating war, thus restoring the prospect of a new world order—more secure, more just and more humane. —_Translated by Pavel Palazhchenko_ ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Let me start with my exoneration with the grandparents out there. You are our living link to the past. Tell your grandchildren the story of struggles, ways at home and abroad, of sacrifices Freely made for freedom sake and tell them your own stories as well because every American has a story to tell. [ MUSIC ] I'm gonna work my heart out From now until election day to defeat my opponent and to help return sound constitutional government to all the people. [ MUSIC ] Read my lips, no new taxes. [ APPLAUSE ] I will keep America moving forward, always forward. Forward. For a better America. For an endless, enduring dream, and a thousand points of light. This is my mission and I will complete it. [ APPLAUSE ] So help me God. The totalitarian era is passing. It's old ideas blown away like leaves from an ancient Lifeless tree. A new breeze is blowing. And a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on. There's new ground to be broken and new action to be Taken. Saddam Hussein's unprovoked invasion, his ruthless, systematic rape of a peaceful neighbor violated everything the community of nations holds dear. [ MUSIC ] The world has said this aggression would not stand and it will not stand. The coalition used overwhelming air power to defeat a brutal dictator and free a nation. [ SOUND ] Our armed forces Fought with honor and valor and as President I can report to the nation aggression is defeated the war is over. [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] That there is no animosity, the Cold War days are over. If it is possible I wanna continue to build a lasting basis for US- Soviet cooperation. For a more peaceful future for all mankind. Let's go Bush. Let's go Bush. Let's go Bush. President Bush is in trouble and the economy is the reason. [ MUSIC ] He was daring and courageous. Always seeking new adventures and new challenges. He was humble and quick to Share Credit. He deflected attention from himself and refused to brag about his accomplishments. He trusted others and Inspire their loyalty and above all he found joy in his family and his faith. Nothing made him happier than being surrounded by his wife. [ MUSIC ] Children and grandchildren. In a place where he hd so many wonderful memories. [ MUSIC ] George W Bush set an example for many people in many ways. He is determined to live his life to the fullest to the very end [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5471437/mikhail-gorbachev-george-hw-bush-war-peace/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5471437/mikhail-gorbachev-george-hw-bush-war-peace/"},"headline":"Mikhail Gorbachev: George H.W. Bush and I Ended a War Together. 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