Improved Israeli-Soviet relations led to increased ties with East European states as well. Israel and Poland reestablished diplomatic relations in September 1986. Trade and tourism between Israel and Hungary also improved in 1986. On August 6, 1986, a senior Romanian envoy visited Jerusalem and met with Prime Minister Peres to discuss relations with the Soviet Union. At the time, there was speculation that the Romanian president, Nicolae Ceauçescu, had helped arrange behind-the-scenes contacts between the Soviet Union and Israel. On August 30, 1986, talks followed between Yehuda Horam, head of the East European Division of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Romanian officials. Also in August, Mrs. Shulamit Shamir, the wife of then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Yitzhak Shamir, received an invitation to visit Bulgaria, the first such official Bulgarian gesture toward Israel. In January 1987, an Israeli delegation held negotiations with Polish, Bulgarian, and Hungarian representatives concerning agricultural cooperation.

Data as of December 1988