The preparatory work was taken in hand by the National Security Council and it happened that one of the secretaries was Lena Steinhoff, who had been on the staff of the US Embassy in Malta for two years.

She was surprised at the timing of the meeting and explained to her colleagues that the weather in December in Malta might be unpredictable, freakish, stormy and potentially dangerous for ships.

As a base for Mr Bush, USS Belknap, the Sixth Fleet flagship, was chosen. The Belknap had already hosted heads of state and VIPs.

On October 4, Captain John Sigler, the Commanding Officer of the Belknap, received a message, "You need to get the ship cleaned up and fixed up very quickly, and it looks like you are to be the host [for the President] for the summit in Malta."

The Belknap was equipped with a satellite to track weather conditions in the Mediterranean and the rest of the world. Soon, Capt. Sigler started to study in detail the forecasts over Malta, knowing how tricky the weather might be in late November and early December.

It looked possible, however, that during the summit, Malta might have good weather and the chances of unsettled or stormy weather were one in 10.

Mr Bush liked to prepare for such important appointments in strict secrecy. He wanted to break the news at a point when nobody expected anything.

For the Malta summit, he planned a joint announcement in Washington and Moscow for October 31.

Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami was accordingly briefed as well. Only a handful of people knew about it.

Mr Bush arrived in Valletta on Friday morning, looking tired after an all-night flight during which he was regularly kept appraised of the progress of the attempted coup in the Philippines.

Mr Gorbachev arrived late on Friday night, straight after his meeting with Pope John Paul.