Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George Bush held talks on a cruise ship in Marsaxlokk harbour 30 years ago as a storm raged outside. The talks are credited with having ended the cold war.  Vanessa Conneely spoke to people involved in the historic event.

“In his autobiography, I remember Mikhail Gorbachev writing something like ‘When I visited Malta I saw lines of rubble walls, while my wife got taken to see the island’s treasures’,” says Fr Marius Zerafa, the man tasked with giving Russia’s First Lady a tour of St John’s Co-Cathedral 30 years ago.

While her husband negotiated one of the most successful peace deals of the last century, his wife Raisa Gorbachev asked to be shown local heritage sites. But things did not go to plan.

“All of the monsigniori and dignitaries were lined up and waiting for her to arrive in the morning at St John’s, but then we were told she would not be coming because of the storm and she had a bit of a cold.

“So, we all left. Then, at 3pm, I got a call from the Prime Minister’s office to say that she was on the way. I told them ‘I don’t have a car’, and they said; ‘we’ll send you a car’. When I got back to the Co-Cathedral, the Prime Minister’s wife and daughter were already there and Mrs Gorbachev had just arrived. But then we realised the door was locked and the sacristan – who had the key – was nowhere to be found.”

Fr Zerafa, who has just turned 90, wrote about meeting Mrs Gorbachev in his memoir The Caravaggio Diaries. He was chosen to give her the tour because he had co-founded the Maltese-Soviet Friendship Society in 1974.

“Once we got inside, she loved it and asked lots of interesting and educated questions. I apologised for the bad weather, but assured her we only kept this kind of weather for special guests to Malta, such as herself and St. Paul. I gave her a gold-plated silver filigree Malta Cross, which I always keep a stock of in the Priory for visiting guests. After the tour, she told me ‘I will never forget this place’.”

Another man who was under pressure in the lead up to the Malta Summit was Maltese artist Edwin Galea.

The 85-year-old, who still runs an art gallery in Valletta, was commissioned to paint four large artworks for the visiting leaders in just one week.

“In November 1989, I was called to Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami’s office. He asked me to paint a commemorative watercolour for President George H Bush and general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, as well as the US Secretary of State and Soviet Foreign Minister. I only had a week to do it, so I had to work day and night to get them finished. But before I could even start painting, I had to do some research, which was difficult.”

A ceremony marking the anniversary will take place in Birżebbuġa today

Mr Galea says he was provided with top secret documents, including aerial photos of where the ships would be docking, so he could get the angles right.

He added: “But I didn’t know what the ships were going to look like. So, I had to contact Washington and Moscow and try and get some information about what the USS Belknap – which would be used for the meeting – looked like. The Americans were very helpful, but the Russians took a bit longer to convince.”

Maltese artist Edwin Galea presenting US President George Bush with one of his paintings at the White House, a year before the Malta Summit.

But despite having successfully completed the paintings, Mr Galea was not asked to the ceremony when they were presented. However, he said it didn’t bother him as he had already met Mr  Bush the previous year in Washington.

“I knew he loved naval ships as he had served in the navy himself, so I had painted him a historical painting of a US ship docked in the Grand Harbour in Valletta in 1803. I wanted to give it to him myself, but relations between Malta and the US were strained at that time, because of the Egypt Air hijacking a year before.”

Luckily, however, he had a contact among the Maltese-American community who set up an appointment. He called him and told me that he had a week to get there.

“My wife and I got on a British Airways flight with the painting and met the US President. When the ambassador here heard I was going, he couldn’t believe it. He said that if I was able to get even five minutes with President Bush, he would buy me a coffee. I ended up getting 20 minutes with him, so when I got back to Malta, I called the ambassador up and told him ‘You owe me five coffees!’.”

Another man asked to mark the event was Noel Galea Bason, who is the contracted coin designer and engraver for the Central Bank.

He was tasked with coming up with a limited-edition coin that went on sale in 2015. Made in both gold and silver – the front of the coin shows an olive and palm branch shaping Malta’s coat of arms with ‘Repubblika ta’ Malta’ written below. The back features US President George H Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev above the Maltese cross that’s connecting the US and USSR flag.

Speaking about the design, designer Mr Galea Bason said: “What a better image than Bush and Gorbachev shaking hands! It was a great event and I’m proud I was commissioned the work to commemorate the anniversary.”

There were 1,500 gold €50 coins minted, as well as 5,000 silver €10 coins. Although the €50 gold coin is sold out at the Central Bank, it’s still possible to find it on the island.

A quick search on eBay indicates there’s one being sold in Malta for approximately €380, while Alfred Camilleri, who owns ‘The Coin Shop’ in Mosta, has one left for €420.

And for anyone interested in getting their hands on a silver coin, Josette Ellul from the Central Bank confirmed there are some left.

“While we don’t have any gold coins left, we do have 10 silver coins available. These are €60 each, the same price as when they were released in 2015.”

A ceremony marking the anniversary will take place today in Birżebbuġa, where 30 years before a giant US navy ship played host to the historic meeting.

Expected to attend are the US and Russian Ambassadors, as well as the naval captains who were on duty that day.

They will meet at a monument made by local Marsa group Bezzina and Sons – who welded two large pieces of a ship together to achieve the design. 

Birżebbuġa mayor Joseph Farrugia said: “I remember the day well, especially the giant storm which will forever be imprinted in my memory.

“The summit was a beautiful scene of two superpowers coming together for a chance at world peace. It is a huge honour for all citizens of Birżebbuġa to have such historical moment in history in our neighbourhood. I feel an immense sense of pride to be from this town and I am sure others are too.”