During the 1985 Geneva Summit, there was a moment when President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev paused their negotiations and went for a walk. Only their personal interpreters were present during this private conversation, and for many years, the content of their discussion was shrouded in secrecy, hidden from both the American and Russian public. However, in a 2009 interview with Charlie Rose and Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State George Shultz, Gorbachev disclosed a surprising revelation. He shared that during their walk, Reagan had asked him straightforwardly if they could put aside their differences in the event of an alien invasion threatening the world.
@historyinmemes That's too bad if you need an outside perceived threat to have ppl with different views united...
@historyinmemes Breaking the Cold War tension. That’s the way to do it👍🏻
This idea of a shared human response to an extraterrestrial threat has been a recurring theme in both science fiction and political discourse. For instance, former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also referred to a similar notion in speeches, suggesting that facing a common external threat could unite humanity. It appears that this concept has been considered seriously at high levels of leadership as a thought experiment to explore the boundaries of international cooperation.
@historyinmemes Were Reagan and Gorbachev really going to defeat this guy?
@historyinmemes Who trusts Biden to go for a walk with Putin? 🤣
@historyinmemes If an alien invasion from another star came here then I'm afraid the battle would already be lost...
The private meeting was supposed to last 15 minutes but went on for over an hour, indicating that both leaders found the conversation meaningful. The Geneva Summit was the first time Reagan and Gorbachev met face-to-face, and it set the stage for their future interactions. Reagan reportedly told aides afterward that he saw in Gorbachev someone he could negotiate with, marking a turning point in U.S.-Soviet relations. After the summit, Reagan began to tone down his rhetoric about the Soviet Union being an “evil empire,” signaling a shift towards diplomacy.