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,
Gabriele Gast of a major chemicals plant in Libya. Overall, Gast was able to pass copies of 49 detailed western intelligence reports to Wolf, covering topics that ranged from West Germany's internal economic challenges to analyses of Soviet politics and the impact of the Soviet space programme. Something else on which she Gast was able to share the analysis of the western intelligence services with her eastern employers was the summit meeting between Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev. In East Berlin her HVA handlers trusted her completely to identify which documents should be copied: there was no attempt or need to guide her