As his influence on domestic affairs waned during his second term , Reagan increasingly focused on relations with the Soviet Union . Reagan recognized the change in the direction of the Soviet leadership under Gorbachev , and shifted to diplomacy , with a view to encourage the Soviet leader to pursue substantial arms agreements . Reagan 's personal mission was to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons , which according to Jack F. Matlock Jr. , Reagan 's ambassador to Moscow , he regarded as " totally irrational , totally inhumane , good for nothing but killing , possibly destructive of life on earth and civilization . " Gorbachev and Reagan agreed to meet at the 1985 Geneva Summit , where they issued a joint statement indicating that neither the U.S. nor the Soviet Union would " seek to achieve military superiority . " The two leaders began a private correspondence after the summit , and each became increasingly optimistic about arms control negotiations . Reagan 's willingness to negotiate with the Soviets was opposed by many conservatives , including Weinberger ; conservative columnist George Will wrote that Reagan was " elevating wishful thinking to the status of a political philosophy . " Various issues , including intelligence operations performed by both countries and tensions in Germany and Afghanistan , threatened to forestall the possibility of an agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union . Nonetheless , both Gorbachev and Reagan agreed to continue arms control negotiations at the October 1986 Reykjavík Summit . At the summit , Gorbachev and Reagan closed in on an agreement to greatly reduce or eliminate the nuclear stockpiles of both the U.S. and the Soviet Union over a ten-year period , but the deal collapsed due to disagreements regarding SDI development . Reagan attacked Gorbachev in a 1987 speech delivered in West Berlin , but negotiations continued . Gorbachev and Reagan broke the impasse by agreeing to negotiate separate treaties on intermediate nuclear forces ( such as intermediate-range ballistic missiles ) and strategic arms ( such as intercontinental ballistic missiles ) . With the framework for an agreement in place , Reagan and Gorbachev met at the 1987 Washington Summit . They signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty ( INF Treaty ) , which committed both signatories to the total abolition of their respective short-range and medium-range missile stockpiles . The agreement marked the first time that the United States and the Soviet Union had committed to the elimination of a type of nuclear weapon , though it provided for the dismantlement of only about one-twentieth of the worldwide nuclear weapon arsenal . The treaty also established an inspections regime designed to ensure that both parties honored the agreement . In addition to the INF Treaty , Reagan and Gorbachev discussed a potential strategic arms treaty , known as START , but SDI continued to be a major point of contention . In May 1988 , the Senate voted 93-to-5 in favor of ratifying the INF Treaty
Washington Summit
Washington Summit (1987)
Presidency of Ronald Reagan