The U.S. was not directly involved in these upheavals, but the Bush administration avoided gloating over the demise of the Eastern Bloc to avoid undermining further democratic reforms.[160]
Bush and Gorbachev met at the Malta Summit in December 1989. Though many on the right remained wary of Gorbachev, Bush came away with the belief that Gorbachev would negotiate in good faith.[161] For the remainder of his term, Bush sought cooperative relations with Gorbachev, believing that he was the key to peace.[162] The primary issue at the Malta Summit was the potential reunification of Germany. While Britain and France were wary of a re-unified Germany, Bush joined German chancellor Helmut Kohl in pushing for German reunification.[163] Bush believed that a reunified Germany would serve American interests.[164] After extensive negotiations, Gorbachev agreed to allow a reunified Germany to be a part of NATO, and Germany officially reunified in October 1990 after paying billions of marks to Moscow.[165]

Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev at the Helsinki Summit in 1990
Gorbachev used force to suppress nationalist movements within the Soviet Union itself.