George H.W. Bush: “the Former U.S.S.R. January 22, 1992 I would first start off by saying I got bawled out by the Secretary of State for…”

“the Former U.S.S.R. January 22, 1992 I would first start off by saying I got bawled out by the Secretary of State for being late. And my position is: I'm not late; you guys are early. But I just want to give a warm welcome to the United States and to Washington, our Capital, to the many distinguished guests in this room today who include foreign ministers and senior officials from 47 countries, the United Nations, major international financial institutions, and other major international organizations. We come together this morning as partners at a historic time, a turning point in our century and, I think, in modern history. Our mission is to respond together to the dramatic revolution that swept away Soviet communism and left in its place 12 new nations moving to establish their place in the world and struggling with the critical task of feeding, clothing, and housing their peoples this winter, this spring, and beyond. Before you discuss these issues in depth over the next 2 days, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the meaning of these events in the former Soviet Union for those of us in North America, in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Pacific, in all corners of the globe. For nearly 50 years, throughout most of the adult lives of almost everyone in this room, mankind endured a dangerous global conflict, the cold war. It divided continents and peoples and held all countries hostage to the possibility of nuclear annihilation.…”