Malta summit ends Cold War, 1989

The leaders of the two world superpowers, the USA and the USSR, declare an end to the Cold War after two days of storm-lashed talks at the Malta summit.

At a joint news conference held on board the Soviet cruise ship, Maxim Gorky, US President George Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announce they have set the stage for big reductions in troops and weapons in Europe.

Although little of substance is actually agreed, the Malta summit is being hailed as the most important since 1945 when Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt agreed a post-war plan for Europe at Yalta.

This BBC News report was originally broadcast on 3 December 1989.