Sarah Paine

So first of all, it's just to get a unified Germany.

Then it's to get a unified Germany with West Germany still in NATO.

Then it's to get unified Germany with all of Germany in NATO.

So here's how the money goes.

Gorbachev agrees to German unification.

We are no longer paying hundreds of millions of Deutschmark.

We're paying billions of Deutschmark, 5 billion Deutschmark for that one.

Then Gorbachev agrees that states can choose their own alliances, i.e.

whether or not to join NATO.

And then he gets—the U.S.

offers nine assurances, but it's also a trade agreement that Gorbachev really wants.

And then the economic union goes into effect.

So we've now done the financial reunification of Germany.

And this is when London—there's a London declaration that's inviting Eastern European countries to coordinate more closely with NATO—

And then in return, Gorbachev has got a promise of a G7 summit meeting that's going to fast track aid to him, which it will do.

And then Gorbachev agrees to German NATO membership.

And at this point, even bigger things are happening.

Germany is going to agree to its border with Poland.

I'll get there and explain.

And Germany provides 15 billion in Deutschmark, including building all kinds of new apartment buildings for repatriated Soviet soldiers who are going home.