Foreign and European Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo unveiled a sculpture by Russian sculptor Gregory Pototsky at the Galdjola Gardens,  Senglea bastions on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the Summit held in Malta between the United States and the former Soviet Union.

Between 2-3 December 1989, United States’ President, George Bush, and the Soviet Union Leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, had scheduled the Malta Summit which  historians consider as the most important meeting between the USA and USSR since the Yalta Conference of 1945.

Minister Bartolo said  the 1989 Malta Summit is a testament of Malta’s resolute determination through the years to strive for peace, security and multilateralism.

‘The choice of Malta was ideal due to the country’s Neutrality stance. Malta declared its neutrality from the two super-powers in 1980, following the departure of British forces from the island.’ remarked Minister Bartolo.

Minister Bartolo said Pototsky’s work of art not only represents the Iron Curtain which once divided Europe and the World but also symbolizes the fragility of peace which can be lost at any time.

The sculpture by Gregory Pototsky (1954-), an international contemporary prolific Russian sculptor, was donated to Malta to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the meeting in 1989 in Malta of the then US President George H. W. Bush and the President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev when the Cold War was declared officially over. The globe depicts the reliefs of the two Presidents separated by tracks which represent the trail of armored tanks, but which, however, evolve into leaves of the laurel shrub, the symbol of the triumph of humanity. A representation of razor wire runs all over the cracked globe. This represents the Iron Curtain which once divided Europe and the World.