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Russia and the United States must avoid a 'hot war', warns Mikhail Gorbachev

2019-12-01T17:59:09.874Z


“Speakers and politicians, people understand that this, the New Cold War, should not be allowed. This could result in a hot war that could mean the destruction of all n ...


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Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Moscow (CNN) - Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev can be remembered today as the man who presided over the collapse of an empire: the recent anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 saw important celebrations to mark the collapse of communism in Europe This and the reunification of Germany.

Less remembered is a meeting that took place a few weeks later between Gorbachev and the president of the United States, George Bush, facing the Mediterranean island of Malta, where the two leaders tried to understand how quickly history had changed.

"Look how nervous we are," Gorbachev told Bush, according to a Soviet transcript.

"We were surprised by the rapidity of the changes that took place," Bush said.

Gorbachev and the president of the United States, George Bush, met in 1989 in talks that marked the end of the Cold War.

Thirty years later, some of the main issues discussed at the Malta summit still have a particular resonance: arms control, Afghanistan and the difficulty in building trust between Moscow and Washington.

The day CNN sat with Gorbachev in Moscow, US President Donald Trump made a surprise visit to US soldiers in Afghanistan, where he announced that peace talks with the Taliban were resumed. Like the Soviet Union three decades ago, the United States is trying to negotiate an exit from Afghanistan while ensuring that the central government of Kabul does not collapse.

In 1989, the United States and the Soviets were on opposite sides of the conflict, with Washington supporting the Mujahideen fighters trying to overthrow the government of the regime backed by the Soviets of the president of Afghanistan, Mohammad Najibullah. But just over two years later, the USSR collapsed, assistance to the Kabul government ran out and the Najibullah government fell.

When asked what lessons could be drawn from the withdrawal of Soviet troops, Gorbachev said: “They must withdraw. That is the main lesson. You know, it's like a match. The match is lit, a fire spreads. And these confrontations, when the main major countries in this conflict are increasingly involved, are dangerous for all nations. ”

Russia began the withdrawal of its soldiers from Afghanistan in the late 1980s.

The fall of the Berlin Wall was preceded by another crucial moment: the signing of the Intermediate Rank Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987.

That pillar of arms control effectively collapsed this year, after the United States formally withdrew and the Russian government said the deal had been sent to the trash.

When asked about the disappearance of the treaty he signed with the president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, Gorbachev expressed the hope that such arms control agreements could be revived.

"All the agreements that exist are preserved and not destroyed," he said. “But these are the first steps towards the destruction of [what] should not be destroyed in any case. Therefore, if this path goes further, then everything is possible. This should not be allowed. ”

The ultimate goal of gun control, he added, must be to completely dispose of nuclear weapons.

That, however, seems a more remote possibility, given the lasting distrust between Moscow and Washington. Relations between the United States and Russia are now at their worst since the Cold War, but Gorbachev expressed hope that Washington and Moscow could find a way to prevent a "hot war" in the future.

"I think this should be avoided," Gorbachev said, when asked if the world was entering a new and dangerous era of multipolar rivalry between states. “It's good that there is already a conversation around the world and people are talking, people are reacting, and this is the most important thing.

“Speakers and politicians, people understand that this, the New Cold War, should not be allowed. This could result in a hot war that could mean the destruction of our entire civilization. That should not be allowed. ”

That Cold War, of course, has been a topic of intense interest in pop culture, especially after the launch of the acclaimed television series "Chernobyl" by HBO.

The recent HBO series “Chernobyl” examines Gorbachev's decision-making during the nuclear disaster.

When asked if he had seen the series, Gorbachev said no, but suggested that his decision making as a Soviet leader at the time of the 1986 nuclear disaster may have been misrepresented.

"I haven't seen her, but I know in detail," Chernobyl's story said. “I will say that as a result, the most important thing is that we have studied all the reasons [of the disaster]. All these conclusions were given to all other countries. These findings are a lesson for everyone. They say: 'Why were you silent for several days?' But I say it was exactly as I said before, not the other way around. We did not understand what had happened. ”

Gorbachev is the theme of “Meeting Gorbachev, a documentary by the filmmaker Werner Herzog that will be released in Russia on December 5. The reception of the film is something to see: Gorbachev is not revered in Russia the way it was in the West, and his name brings associations of the painful Soviet collapse that still looms over Russian society and culture.

For the 88-year-old former president, it seems that the past has not yet passed.

Cold War Russia Russia

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2019-12-01

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