Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has warned Western and Russian leaders against dragging the world into a new Cold War, adding that the two sides can find a common language through their shared challenges.
Speaking to Rossiyskaya Gazeta ahead of the 25th anniversary of
the fall of the Berlin Wall, Gorbachev said that he is against
any walls between nations.
To end the current standoff between Russia and the West, he said
the sides must "leave the logic of mutual accusations and
sanctions behind.”
The former Soviet leader believes that Russia has already done so
by not responding to the latest round of Western sanctions.
“It’s now our partner’s turn,” he added, suggesting the
West should drop the idea of so-called “personal
sanctions.”
“How can there be a dialogue if one you punish the people who
take decisions and influence the politics? You have to talk to
each other,” the Nobel Peace Prize laureate stressed.
"One must not give up. One must not get dragged back into a
new Cold War.”
According to Gorbachev, one of the reasons behind the current
European and global political crisis is the West’s reluctance to
take Russia’s position and interests into account.
He said the West has a history of praising Russia verbally –
especially during Boris Yeltsin’s rule – while not actually
taking it seriously.
“First of all I mean NATO expansion, the missile defense
system deployment, the actions of the West in the regions that
are important for Russia (Yugoslavia, Iraq, Georgia, Ukraine).
They basically say: It’s none of your business.”
But Gorbachev is convinced that both Russia and Western countries
face more shared challenges than divisions. Threats such as the
Ebola epidemic and the fight against Islamic State militants, as
well as poverty, migrations, and ecological problems, can only
help bring the sides closer together.
“Shared threats to our security have not disappeared. In the
face of shared challenges, we can again find a common language.
It won't be easy but there is no other way," he told the
paper.
Gorbachev, who is half Ukrainian, said he believes the problems
between Ukraine and Russia can be solved.
“Our peoples won’t break up completely, I believe. We are too
close to each other in all aspects,” he said.
But he admits that tremendous damage has been done to the once
brotherly relations between the nations.
“The [two countries’] leaders – President Vladimir Putin and
President Petro Poroshenko – now bear great responsibility. They
should set an example.”
Though Gorbachev is praised around the world as a great democracy
advocate, he remains a controversial figure at home. While some
respect him for the crucial reforms he brought, others blame him
for the break-up of the Soviet Union and the crises and conflicts
that ensued.