Reagan and Gorbachev’s Relationship Warmed Cold War Tensions

In the 1980s, the Soviet Union and United States held a number of summits to come to terms with the two country’s growing nuclear arsenals. The country’s leaders, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, got to know each other during these sessions and developed a personal rapport. Reagan’s charisma and personal warmth enabled him to disarm Gorbachev who was more formal and reserved. Because of their relationship, the two world leaders were more willing to have conversations and negotiate leading to the INF Treaty. The treaty mandated the removal of a specific class of intermediate-range ballistic missiles from each country’s active inventories. That historic treaty foreshadowed the end of the Cold War.