How did international affairs in the 1980s contribute to the end of the Cold War?

During the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail
Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union, undertook a series of meetings and negotiations
that helped lead to the end of the Cold War.  These were the major events in
international affairs in the 1980s that helped lead to the end of the Cold
War.

What was important in Reagan and Gorbachev's
interactions was the fact that they managed to get along with one another and inspire
trust in one another.  This rapport led, for example, to Gorbachev's willingness to
ignore the Strategic Defense Initiative.  When this happened, Reagan was willing to sign
the INF Treaty, which led to the destruction of many nuclear
weapons.

It was events like this that helped to end the
Cold War.  As Reagan and Gorbachev met and made deals like this one, it became easier
for the two sides to stop seeing one another as enemies.  This led to an easing of
tensions and an eventual end to the Cold War.