Secretary of State & Soviet Foreign Minister

Mr. Baker and Mr. Bessmertnykh spoke to reporters following their meeting with President Bush. Mr. Bessmertnykh said he was completely satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. In a statement Mr. Bessmertnykh read first in Russian and Mr. Baker then read in English, the two leaders announced that a proposed summit between Presidents Bush and Gorbachev that had been scheduled to be held in Moscow in February would be postponed until a later date in the first half of this year. The message said President Bush would not be able to get away from Washington in February due to the Gulf war, and the START arms treaty needed additional work before being discussed in a summit. Secretary Baker said the question of the Baltic states was discussed in the meeting, but “the message they just read, which did not mention the Baltics speaks for itself.” close