At the time when Gorbachev was giving his speech in 1988, parties within the Soviet Union and the larger Eastern bloc were pushing for social and political change. By calling for the de-ideologizing of relations amongst states, he meant that nations needed to cooperate in addressing issues that affected the global society. As mentioned earlier, the Cold War had created a divisive ideology that strained the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States.
He noted that the Soviet Union would be reducing its military activities in Eastern Europe, and thus countries in the region would initiate political change without interference from communist ideologies. Therefore, his statement meant that states needed to tolerate each other. In essence, he was calling on the superpowers to cooperate and initiate the process of creating what he termed as a new world order.
This call improved relations with superpowers and especially the US, which was a leading force in the Cold War. In the speech, Gorbachev proceeded to explain that all nations needed each other to foster inter-state relations as demand for the new stage where countries would discuss issues through mutual understanding instead of fighting.