Following the failures of earlier talks with the US, in February 1987, Gorbachev held a conference in Moscow, titled "For a World without Nuclear Weapons, for Mankind's Survival", which was attended by various international celebrities and politicians. By publicly pushing for nuclear disarmament, Gorbachev sought to give the Soviet Union the moral high ground and weaken the West's self-perception of moral superiority. Aware that Reagan would not budge on SDI, Gorbachev focused on reducing "Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces", to which Reagan was receptive. In April 1987, Gorbachev discussed the issue with US secretary of state George P. Shultz in Moscow; he agreed to eliminate the Soviets' SS-23 rockets and allow US inspectors to visit Soviet military facilities to ensure compliance. There was hostility to such compromises from the Soviet military, but following the May 1987 Mathias Rust incident—in which a West German teenager was able to fly undetected from Finland and land in Red Square—Gorbachev fired many senior military figures for incompetence. In December 1987, Gorbachev visited Washington, DC, where he and Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Taubman called it "one of the highest points of Gorbachev's career".
Following the failures of earlier talks with the US, in February 1987, Gorbachev held a conference in Moscow, titled "For a World without Nuclear Weapons, for Mankind's Survival", which was attended by various international celebrities and politicians. By publicly pushing for nuclear disarmament, Gorbachev sought to give the Soviet Union the moral high ground and weaken the West's self-percepti.on of moral superiority. Aware that Reagan would not budge on SDI, Gorbachev focused on reducing "Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces", to which Reagan. was receptive In April 1987, Gorbachev discussed the issue with US secretary of state George P Shultz in Moscow; he agreed to eliminate the Soviets' SS-23 rockets and allow US inspectors to visit Soviet military facilities to ensure compliance. There was hostility to such compromises from the Soviet military, but following the May 1987 Mathias Rust incident—in which a West German teenager was able to fly undetected from Finland and la,nd in Red Square—Gorbachev fired many senior military figures for incompetence. In December 1987, Gorbachev visited Washington DC, where he and Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Taubman called it "one of the highest points of Gorbachev's career".