Ronald Reagan explained his strategy was an arms buildup that would leave the Soviets far behind, with no choice but to negotiate arms reduction. Finally, displaying his characteristic optimism, he praised liberal democracy and promised that such a system eventually would triumph over Soviet communism. Reagan appreciated the revolutionary change in the direction of the Soviet policy with Mikhail Gorbachev, and shifted to diplomacy, with a view to encourage the Soviet leader to pursue substantial arms agreements. He and Gorbachev held four summit conferences between 1985 and 1988: the first in Geneva, Switzerland, the second in Reykjavík, Iceland, the third in Washington,
Mark Phillips (journalist) in 1982, Phillips moved to the United States, and joined CBS News as a reporter for the network's London bureau and covered events throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. That same year, Phillips became the 1st non-British correspondent to report from the Falkland Islands during the British military's conflict in Argentina. From 1984 to 1986, Phillips was promoted to correspondent and assigned to the CBS News bureau in Moscow, where he covered 3 Soviet leaders: Yuri Andropov, Konstainin Chernenko and Mikhail Gorbachev—as well as the Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Moscow and the resumption of the U.S.-Soviet arms talk. From 1986