When Reagan and Gorbachev met at Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1986, the two leaders tried but could not come to an agreement on the issue of the Strategic Defense Initiatives. Reagan insisted on pursuing it, and Gorbachev opposed it. When they met again a year later at Washington, D.C, however, they signed a treaty calling for the removal of all intermediate range nuclear weapons from Europe. This was the first agreement that eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons. Unbelievebly the cold was was slowly coming to an end.
Along with agreeing to limit nuclear weapons, Gorbachev took other surprising steps that affected international relations. Admitting that the Soviet Union's intervention in Afganistan had been morally wrong, he withdrew Soviet troops. He also released political prisoners and allowed freer emigration of Soviet Jews.
Although Reagan was a strong leader when it came to establishing public policy he adopted a hands of attitude toward the day to day operations of the presidency. This attitude led to scandals that would tarnish Reagan's final years in office, though he remained popular.
Refer to the Iran Contra Scandal