List of Soviet Union–United States summits


Soviet Union–United States summits were held from 1943 to 1991. The topics discussed at the summits between the President of the United States and either the General Secretary or the Premier of the Soviet Union ranged from fighting the Axis Powers during World War II to arms control between the two superpowers themselves during the Cold War.

Allies of World War II

DatePlaceCountryPresident of the United StatesGeneral Secretary or Premier of the Soviet UnionNotes
November 28-December 1, 1943TehranFranklin D. RooseveltJoseph Stalin
Also in attendance Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom. Ended with the Western Allies committing themselves to open a second front against Nazi Germany through the planned amphibious invasion of Normandy. They also agreed to provide full support to the Yugoslav Partisans over the Chetniks. In return, the Soviet Union agreed to support the creation of the United Nations after the war and eventually enter the Allied campaign against Japan. They also agreed to divide Germany into occupation zones and recognize Iran as an independent state after the war.
February 4-11, 1945YaltaFranklin D. RooseveltJoseph Stalin
Also in attendance Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom. First visit by a United States President to the Soviet Union. Produced declaration calling for the formation of democratic institutions in Europe after the war while dividing Germany and Berlin into American, British, French, and Soviet zones of occupation. Imposed reparations, denazification, and demilitarization on postwar Germany. Obtained Western recognition of Soviet puppet government in Poland. Obtained Soviet commitment to enter the United Nations in exchange for allowing all 16 Soviet Socialist Republics membership. Mandated trials for Nazi war criminals after the war.
July 17-August 2, 1945PotsdamAllied-occupied GermanyHarry S. TrumanJoseph Stalin
Also in attendance Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee of the United Kingdom, with a switch caused by the Labour Party's victory in the 1945 general election. Planned for the postwar order and terms of peace treaties after World War II. Mandated complete abolition of Nazi political institutions and laws in Germany, initiated democratization reforms, and planned dismantlement of industry. Set the Oder-Neisse line as the western border of Poland and Germany. Allowed expulsions of ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe. Created conditions which allowed the Soviet Union to establish satellite states in Eastern Europe after the war.

Cold War (1953–1962)

DatePlaceCountryPresident of the United StatesGeneral Secretary or Premier of the Soviet UnionNotes
July 18-23, 1955GenevaDwight D. EisenhowerNikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin
Also in attendance Prime Minister Anthony Eden of the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Edgar Faure of France. First Four-Power conference since World War II. It was intended to reduce rising international tensions during the Cold War, and included discussions of trade policy, the nuclear arms race, and disarmament. Failed to achieve settlement on German reunification due to Western refusal to withdraw West Germany from NATO.
September 15, 26-27, 1959Washington, D.C. and Camp DavidDwight D. EisenhowerNikita KhrushchevFirst visit by a Soviet leader to the United States.
May 16-17, 1960ParisDwight D. EisenhowerNikita KhrushchevAlso in attendance Prime Minister Harold Macmillan of the United Kingdom and President Charles de Gaulle of France. Khrushchev left the summit due to the dispute over the 1960 U-2 incident.
June 3-4, 1961ViennaJohn F. KennedyNikita Khrushchev
Convened after the botched Bay of Pigs invasion and the Berlin Crisis. Achieved a settlement on the Laotian Civil War but failed to achieve final settlement regarding the status of Berlin. The breakdown of the conference contributed to a more hardline American stance towards the Soviet Union.

Cold War (1962–1979)

DatePlaceCountryPresident of the United StatesGeneral Secretary or Premier of the Soviet UnionNotes
June 23 and 25, 1967GlassboroLyndon B. JohnsonAlexei Kosygin
Convened due to the intensifying Vietnam War and the Six-Day War. Failed to reach concrete agreements but resulted in improved Soviet Union–United States relations and the period of détente
May 22-30, 1972MoscowRichard NixonLeonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin
First visit by an American head of state to the Soviet Union since World War II. Signing of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, and the U.S.–Soviet Incidents at Sea Agreement. The treaties limited strategic nuclear weapons and specifically anti-ballistic missiles
June 18-25, 1973Washington, D.C.Richard NixonLeonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin
Signing of the Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War.
June 28-July 3, 1974MoscowRichard NixonLeonid Brezhnev
Ended in the signing of the Threshold Test Ban Treaty limiting nuclear weapons tests.
November 23-24, 1974VladivostokGerald FordLeonid Brezhnev
Ended in agreement establishing parity for strategic nuclear delivery vehicles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles
July 30 and August 2, 1975HelsinkiGerald FordLeonid Brezhnev
Established the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Moscow Helsinki Group. Included commitments from the United States, the Soviet Union, and most of Europe to support their territorial integrity
June 15-18, 1979ViennaJimmy CarterLeonid BrezhnevSigning of the second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty.

meets with Richard Nixon during the Soviet leader's trip to the U.S. in June 1973
and Leonid Brezhnev signing SALT II Treaty, June 18, 1979, in Vienna

Cold War (1985–1991)

DatePlaceCountryPresident of the United StatesGeneral Secretary or Premier of the Soviet UnionNotes
November 19-21, 1985GenevaRonald ReaganMikhail Gorbachev
First international summit between American and Soviet heads of state since the end of détente. Failed to produce agreements due to the American refusal to abandon the Strategic Defense Initiative but ended in improved American-Soviet relations.
October 10-12, 1986ReykjavíkRonald ReaganMikhail Gorbachev
Nearly achieved agreement on bilateral nuclear disarmament but suddenly collapsed due to the American refusal to abolish the SDI. Nevertheless resulted in major diplomatic gains between the United States and the Soviet Union
December 7-10, 1987Washington, D.C.Ronald ReaganMikhail Gorbachev
Ended in the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty limiting short-range and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Also included discussions on conventional and chemical weapons; human rights; and proxy conflicts in the Third World.
May 29-June 1, 1988MoscowRonald ReaganMikhail Gorbachev
Continued negotiations on topics from the Washington Summit and produced a joint statement on arms control.
December 7, 1988New York CityRonald ReaganMikhail Gorbachev
Also in attendance President-elect George H. W. Bush. Gorbachev left the summit early due to the 1988 Spitak earthquake which struck the Armenian S.S.R. that same day.
December 2-3, 1989VallettaGeorge H. W. BushMikhail Gorbachev
Conference convened several weeks after the Monday demonstrations and the fall of the Berlin Wall ending Marxist-Leninist rule in East Germany. Conference ended with a symbolic declaration that the Cold War had ended.
May 30-June 3, 1990Washington, D.C.George H. W. BushMikhail GorbachevSigning of the 1990 Chemical Weapons Accord.
September 9, 1990HelsinkiGeorge H. W. BushMikhail Gorbachev
Discussed the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and German reunification.
November 19, 1990ParisGeorge H. W. BushMikhail GorbachevSigning of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.
July 17, 1991LondonGeorge H. W. BushMikhail GorbachevHeld in conjunction with the 17th G7 Summit.
July 30-31, 1991MoscowGeorge H. W. BushMikhail GorbachevSigning of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
October 29-30, 1991MadridGeorge H. W. BushMikhail GorbachevHeld in conjunction with the Madrid Conference of 1991. Final meeting between American and Soviet heads of state due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the transfer of power to President Boris Yeltsin of the new Russian Federation in December 1991.