Former President Gorbachev: Ending the Cold War was not America's sole achievement
(Baonghean.vn) - In an interview with the Welt am Sonntag (Germany), former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev commented that the end of the Cold War was a total victory for all of humanity, but both the West and the US claimed the position of victor for themselves, while the victory belonged to us, including Russia.
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| Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Photo: TASS |
"The end of the Cold War was the achievement of all of us, but Western politicians and first of all the United States claimed victory for themselves. It can be said that the media talked about that victory," former President Gorbachev said, answering a question about the West's actions after the end of the Cold War.
According to Mr. Gorbachev, Western leaders did not expect that similar explanations about the end of the confrontation would recognize Russia's achievements, and that this would affect the future of relations. Meanwhile, the West acted as if "everything was already decided," the former Soviet president said. The West tried to exert influence, breaking international agreements. "In Europe, we jointly created a common security mechanism, expanded NATO and affirmed the organization as a global security belt," the former Soviet president said.
Mr. Gorbachev further analyzed that Western countries "could not overcome the challenges of the new era", including the fundamental causes of the confrontation between the West and Russia.
"Recently, some European politicians have been seriously considering isolating Russia in the future. To do this, close coordination is needed to find measures, built by the parties involved. As far as I understand, Russian politicians are well aware of this," the former President of the Soviet Union affirmed.
Wishing for better relations in the world, Mr. Gorbachev called for "looking forward, not back", not "reminiscing" about the Cold War period.
"Many problems and challenges await us. We need to avoid the arms race, care for and save the environment, solve problems related to poverty and social justice. These can only be solved when we join forces. That is the biggest challenge of our time," former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev emphasized.
The Cold War - a geopolitical, military, economic and strategic confrontation that lasted from 1946 to the 1980s between the alliances led by the Soviet Union and the United States.
In December 1989, Gorbachev and former US President George Bush (father) officially declared the end of the Cold War, signing an end to confrontation with the "Paris Agreement on a New Europe" which was implemented starting in 1990.
