The Geneva Summit

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Mikhail Gorbachev, Secretary General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and US President Ronald Reagan approach each other with their hands stretched out. Above them hang large flags of the two superpowers. Keystone/Jansson

The Geneva Summit was held in Switzerland on November 19-20, 1985. US President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, met to discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons and to seek a partnership between the two countries. Already in the run-up to the summit, people could buy souvenir badges of the event on the streets of Geneva. Max Vaterlaus/Keystone

US President Ronald Reagan is seen here on November 16, 1985 practicing his putting aboard Air Force One while en route to Geneva, Switzerland. Alamy

Mikhail Gorbachev (center) with his wife Raissa Gorbacheva, arriving at Geneva Airport for the summit meeting with US President Ronald Reagan. He is received by then-Swiss President Kurt Furgler. Keystone

US President Reagan and Soviet leader Gorbachev meeting outside the Villa Fleur d'Eau in Geneva, the American negotiation building. Keystone

Then-Swiss President Kurt Furgler gives a reception on the occasion of Gorbachev and Reagan's visit, pictured at the residence "La Gandole" in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 20, 1985. The picture shows guests departing, from left to right: Ursula Furgler, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Swiss President Kurt Furgler. Karl Mathis/Keystone

Former US President Ronald Reagan (left, on sofa) and former leader of the Soviet Union (USSR) Mikhail Gorbachev (right, on sofa), pictured in 1985 at the Geneva Summit. Mary Ann Fackelman/Keystone

US President Ronald Reagan used lakeside villa, the' 'Maison de Saussure'' as their residence during the summit meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The 18th century house is located just outside Geneva. The mansion was offered as a temporary home during the summit by Prince Karim Aga Khan, Princess Salima Aga Khan and their three children. Keystone/Alamy Stock

US President Ronald Reagan is welcomed to Geneva by then-Swiss President Kurt Furgler. Keystone

The Geneva conference hall was full, with representatives of the press in the background as the leaders of the US and USSR met. Keystone

Photo from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library November 19, 1985 showing US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev (right) at the summit in Geneva, Switzerland. Keystone

US Secretary of State George Schultz (left) and his Soviet counterpart Eduard Shevardnadze shown in a photo dated November 21, 1985 at the signing of a joint declaration at the end of the two-day summit between the superpowers. AFP

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Geneva has repeatedly been the host city for high-level meetings between the United States and Russia. In November 1985, former US President Ronald Reagan met with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

The meeting was an important step in the rapprochement of the two countries and is considered a turning point in the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the US. 

Just one day after taking office, Gorbachev resumed the arms control talks that had been interrupted at the end of 1983. The US had started its “Strategic Defense Initiative” (SDI), a missile defense system in space. Therefore, it came as a surprise when the American president and the Soviet head of state agreed to a summit meeting in Geneva on November 19, 1985.

At the so-called Geneva Summit Conference, talks included the reduction of nuclear weapons. The outcome of the exchange, which took place in private, included assurances for the first time by the US and USSR not to seek military domination.

In a joint declaration they said “that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”. 

Reagan added to this: “Genuine confidence must be based on deeds, not just words. That is the criterion for the future.”