Speeches, etc.

Margaret Thatcher

Remarks after talks with Soviet President (Mikhail Gorbachev)

Document type: Speeches, interviews, etc.
Venue: Outside No.10 Downing Street
Source: Thatcher Archive: COI transcript
Editorial comments: Around 1410? President Gorbachev spoke after MT.
Importance ranking: Major
Word count: 596

Prime Minister

We welcome President and Mrs Gorbachev to No 10 Downing Street. We have awaited this visit with eager anticipation.

This morning President Gorbachev and I have had extensive talks for over two and a half hours on all of the principal topics of the day proving the progress of the Soviet Union under perestroika and Mr Gorbachev has told me all about that.

We have spoken about East-West relations and arms control. We have dealt with the wider regional problems from Central America, through the Middle East, and had a talk about the problems in Namibia and we are most anxious that the agreement there be implemented in full.

Then at 12.30 pm we were present when our respective [Geoffrey Howe and Edward Shevardnadze] Foreign Ministers signed three Agreements: one on investment protection in the Soviet Union; the second on better provisions for obtaining visas; and the third about a school for Armenia, which this country and many of its industrialists who have contributed are giving to the town which was so badly devastated during the earthquake. [end p1]

The talks have been very deep, very wide-ranging, and very friendly and, as always, we got to grips with the real issues. I think they are an example of the new spirit of friendliness and negotiation cooperation between East and West.

President Gorbachev

I would like to say that I agree with what Mrs Thatcher has just said. There may be a difference in one point only. Mrs Thatcher said that we talked for two and a half hours but I must deny that, I must say that we began talking at 10.00 am and then we continued until this very moment, without even breaking up for lunch, breaking our conversation for lunch. That is just a small precision.

First of all I take this occasion to thank Mrs Thatcher and the Government of Britain for hospitality. I would like to convey to the people of Britain the best wishes from the people of the Soviet Union.

You know that my visit was to take place earlier but because of the earthquake in Armenia I had to go urgently back to the Soviet Union.

I also would like to take this opportunity in order to thank once again the Government and people of Britain for reaching out to the people of Armenia, to the people of the Soviet Union in those days. [end p2]

We thank very much all those people in Britain who were able, at that difficult moment, not only to express their warm sentiments but also to help in a practical way.

I also would like to thank those men and women of Britain who went there to Armenia in those first days and who were helping in the rescue operation. That tragic situation also showed that we can be together, that we can work together when there is understanding, when there is trust, when there is a good atmosphere in relations between the two nations.

Today Mrs Thatcher and I have been talking about how to advance the process of improving the international situation. We value the dialogue that we have with Britain, with the Government of Britain, with Mrs Thatcher. This dialogue has reached a very high level now, it is a very substantive dialogue and I must say that the degree of mutual understanding is increasing and that has enabled us today to discuss constructively the various problems of international politics.

We discussed problems of disarmament and security, we discussed regional conflicts, we discussed our bilateral relations and a number of other problems. We shall continue our discussions and I feel that the sphere of our cooperation has been expanding. We have had realistic dialogue and we welcome this development of Soviet-British relations.