Ex-USSR president sees Obama's visit as opportunity for better relations
Interfax
Moscow, 8 July: Former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev believes that US President Barack Obama's visit to Moscow has effectively relaunched Russian-US cooperation. "The very fact that the visit took place is significant because there has been an evident cooling in Russian-US relations recently and many issues which need to be resolved have been pushed aside," Gorbachev told Interfax today.
"This included the nuclear weapons problem, which cannot be resolved unilaterally. The whole cooperation process was frozen. The media and serious statesmen had been saying that the United States was not that much interested in relations with Russia. Obama's visit drew a line underneath this period. This is a big plus," Gorbachev said.
"The first steps are not easy but their significance is great and the main point is to get them right," he added.
"The visit gave us an opportunity for a serious improvement in our relations. It is now important not to miss this chance the way that unfortunately it happened after 11 September 2001, largely because the United States' reaction to Russia's desire to cooperate was inappropriate," Gorbachev said. "The visit revived the hope and produced the first results, which need to be built upon even though they are modest," he added.
"The visit showed that certain problems will be difficult and will require much joint effort. What would be the determining factor? I think that if the change for the better is backed by specific agreements and effective joint moves, mutual confidence will be restored rather quickly," Gorbachev said.
(Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1410 gmt 8 Jul 09 quoted Gorbachev as saying that during his visit to Russia Obama had taken into account some of the statements the former Soviet leader made during their first meeting in Washington in March. "I do not hold any official functions. This was a brief amicable conversation. President Obama told me about the visit, shared his first impressions with me so to speak," Gorbachev added. He praised Obama for "being a good listener," which is "an important quality for a statesman".
Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1430 gmt 8 Jul 09 quoted Gorbachev as saying that Obama would try to take into consideration Russia's interests over possible deployment of US missile defence facilities in Europe but that he would be put under pressure in the USA. "The previous administration effectively ignored Russia's position on this problem. President Obama has said that the current administration has undertaken a review of the missile defence programme. I think that it is already good that the previous rush is no longer there," Gorbachev said. "However, it is likely that the US president will find himself under much pressure. The military-political lobby is still there," he added.
"It is important for Russia to establish its line of conduct, including in its argumentation, in relations with the Czech Republic and Poland, on all aspects of the problem, so that an agreement is possible," Gorbachev said.
He also said he agreed with Moscow's position that the issue of strategic offensive weapons and the issue of missile defence were connected. "By the way, I have said this to President Obama," Gorbachev added.).
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