Soviet policy towards Ethiopia remained relatively unchanged until the accession of Mikhail Gorbachev to General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985.
Signs of Gorbachev's "new thinking" were evident in Ethiopian relations as early as 1986, when the Soviets pressured Mengistu to agree to face-to-face talks with Somalia's Said Barre that resulted in the signing of peace accords in 1988 [REF].