By mid-1989 , as unrest blanketed Eastern Europe , Bush requested a meeting with Gorbachev , and the two agreed to hold the December 1989 Malta Summit . After the Malta summit , Bush sought cooperative relations with Gorbachev throughout the remainder of his term , believing that the Soviet leader was the key to peacefully ending the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe . The key issue at the Malta Summit was the potential reunification of Germany . While Britain and France were wary of a re-unified Germany , Bush pushed for German reunification alongside West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl . Gorbachev also resisted the idea of a reunified Germany , especially if it became part of NATO , but the upheavals of the previous year had sapped his power at home and abroad . Gorbachev agreed to hold " Two-Plus-Four " talks among the U.S. , the Soviet Union , France , Britain , West Germany , and East Germany , which commenced in 1990 . After extensive negotiations , Gorbachev eventually agreed to allow a reunified Germany to be a part of NATO . With the signing of the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany , Germany officially reunified in October 1990
Malta Summit
Malta Summit
Presidency of George H. W. Bush