Mikhail Gorbachev In Malta: The Islands’ Role In Ending The Cold War
Mikhail Gorbachev was the architect of the USSR’s dissolution. As the world mourns his passing, we’re taking a look back at Malta’s oft-overlooked role in ending the Cold War and its role in international peace today.
The Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall
The 1945 Yalta conference marked the beginning of the Cold War, a 40-year period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, and their respective allies.
The Winds of Change
By 1989, the (revolutionary) winds of change were sweeping through Soviet states, culminating in the fall of the Berlin Wall. This marked the ending of the Iron Curtain divide of Europe between the capitalist West and the communist East.
From Yalta to Malta
In a matter of a few weeks, a meeting was to take place in Malta between US President George H.W. Bush and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. Expectations were high for the “Malta Summit” and it was viewed as one of the most important high-level meetings since WWII.
Sharon Emerson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Why Malta?
Malta is a constitutionally neutral, peace-seeking country.
During his intervention at the UN general assembly in September 1989, then prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami stated: “If the voice of a micro-state such as ours does have any special claim to be heard in the assembly… it is because our mini-stature does tend to make our self-interest more nearly coincide with the global interest.”
The Seasick Summit
The summit was held on the open seas, inspired largely by President Bush’s fascination with World War II President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s habit of meeting foreign leaders on board naval vessels.
The meeting was not all plain sailing. In fact, it is also remembered as the “Seasick Summit”, owing to abysmal weather which left the American president stranded aboard his cruiser in Marsaxlokk Bay and forced an afternoon session of talks to be abandoned.
National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Peaceful end of the Cold War
The summit is considered by some as central to the peaceful end of the Cold War and foreshadowing a “new relationship between East and West, a new Europe”. (Raymond L Garthoff – LA Times)
A missed opportunity?
Others, however, called the meeting a “missed opportunity”, citing the overly cautious Bush administration for a failure to respond to Soviet arms control initiatives and the lack of significant changes to US foreign policy.
The relevance of Malta’s strategic location
The ‘Malta Summit’ is another testament to the continued relevance of Malta’s strategic location, with this tiny island playing host to two political giants. It also reminds us of the unique role Malta can play in the current tensions to bring opposing sides to the same table of discussion.
Matteo Perez d’Aleccio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
This article is part of an ongoing collaborative series by Spunt.mt and Lovin Malta.
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What do you think about this little piece of Maltese history?