Ronald Reagan D.C., and the fourth in Moscow. Reagan believed that if he could persuade the Soviets to allow for more democracy and free speech, this would lead to reform and the end of Communism. The critical summit was at Reykjavík in October 1986, where they met alone, with translators but with no aides. To the astonishment of the world, and the chagrin of Reagan's most conservative supporters, they agreed to abolish all nuclear weapons. Gorbachev then asked the end of SDI. Reagan said no, claiming that it was defensive only, and that he would share the secrets with the Soviets. No
Mikhail Gorbachev concrete agreement immediately, or for leading to a staged elimination of nuclear weapons. Reagan was persuaded by Richard Perle to reject limits on SDI testing because Perle thought that the far-reaching arms control deal proposed by the Soviets would improve the Soviet domestic economy and have a beneficial impact on the Soviet standard of living. In the long term, nevertheless, this would culminate in the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 1987, after Gorbachev had proposed this elimination on 22 July 1987 (and it was subsequently agreed on in Geneva on 24 November). In February 1988, Gorbachev