George H.W. Bush, Gorbachev lunch in Houston

HOUSTON

The former American president and his former Soviet counterpart had a private lunch Thursday in Houston. Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former first lady Barbara Bush joined them, along with Gorbachev's daughter.

Gorbachev hugged Bush as he entered a Houston club and presented Bush and Baker with an autographed copy of a Russian-language book with Gorbachev's photo on the cover.

The then-presidents first met in 1989 in Malta, shortly after the Berlin Wall fell. They had four U.S.-Soviet summits during their time in office.

In 2001, Gorbachev received a public service award from the Bush Presidential Library Foundation at Texas A&M University.

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