![]() Gorbachev: … and Helmut Kohl then played a very positive role in the establishment of the treaty with the elimination of the Pershing 1A missiles. SPIEGEL: The stationing of American intermediate-range missiles led to mass demonstrations by the peace movement in Germany … Reagan and I signed it in Washington in December 1987. We agreed on a separate treaty addressing the intermediate-range missiles. In order to break the impasse, we offered the Americans concessions and uncoupled the negotiating package. That's why in Reykjavik we weren't able to turn our agreements on intercontinental missiles and intermediate-range missiles into treaties. Gorbachev: Reagan wanted it no matter what. SPIEGEL: You were unable to convince Reagan to abandon his SDI project, which aimed to create a defensive shield against nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles. And then we also had the problem with the missile defense. With the strategic long-range weapons there were also technical questions. This continued under Bush, so, in the end, we only finally signed the treaty in summer 1991. But Reagan was up against strong resistance from the hawks in the US administration. Gorbachev: In Reykjavik, Iceland, in October 1986, Reagan and I not only established the framework for eliminating intermediate-range missiles, but also for halving the number of intercontinental missiles. SPIEGEL: Why were the negotiations over intercontinental ballistic missiles so much tougher than those over intermediate-range missiles? ![]() It was important to get away from the nuclear abyss our countries were marching toward when they stationed hundreds of intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe. Gorbachev: No, there was no propaganda at play and it was not tactical. SPIEGEL: Many accused you of using your demand as a tactic to present the Soviet Union as a peace-loving country. We achieved a lot, which shows that my approach was completely realistic. We wanted to move from confrontation to cooperation. ![]() That was all inextricably linked to a normalization of our relations. Limiting conventional weapons was also on our agenda. In addition, we aspired to the destruction of chemical weapons and are now close to achieving that goal. Gorbachev: We not only proclaimed a nuclear weapons free world as a major goal - we also named concrete interim goals. SPIEGEL: Did you really believe at the time that you could achieve a world free of nuclear weapons? note: the subject of the summit between Reagan and Gorbachev was nuclear disarmament), Margaret Thatcher declared: We won't be able to handle a second Reykjavik. After the Reykjavik summit in 1986 ( eds. They considered it to be a propaganda stunt and they wanted to thwart Reagan's policies. note: the proposal to remove all Soviet and American intermediate-range nuclear missles from Europe) had many opponents in the West. Let's not forget that the the "Zero Option" that Reagan himself proposed ( eds. Former US Secretary of State George Shultz told me a few years ago that only a conservative president like Reagan could have been in a position to get the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty through the Senate. The power of the military-industrial complex continued to be enormous under Reagan and his successor George Bush. Eisenhower stated the problem by its name. Already back in the 1950s, President Dwight D. Gorbachev: So many decades pass, but unfortunately some things do not change. SPIEGEL: Are you disappointed in the Americans? ![]() Unfortunately, the US has since forgotten the second important point in our joint statement - according to which neither America nor we will seek to achieve military superiority. Already during my first meeting with him in November of 1985, we were able to make the most important determination: "Nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought." This sentence combined morals and politics - two things many consider to be irreconcilable. Gorbachev: Reagan acted out of honest conviction and genuinely rejected nuclear weapons. SPIEGEL Media Menü SPIEGEL Media aufklappen.Alle Magazine Menü Alle Magazine aufklappen.SPIEGEL-Heft Menü SPIEGEL-Heft aufklappen.Gutscheine Anzeige Menü Gutscheine aufklappen.Marktplatz Anzeige Menü Marktplatz aufklappen.Partner-Inhalte Anzeige Menü Partner-Inhalte aufklappen.Wissenschaft Menü Wissenschaft aufklappen. ![]()
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