Mikhail Gorbachev has accused the United States of "arrogance" over its attitude toward Russia at the end of the Cold War, blaming America's desire to "build a new empire" for the current NATO-Ukraine dispute, The Times.
The former Soviet president said in an interview that the Kremlin was in a weak negotiating position because the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 provoked "economic collapse and chaos."
"In that position, how can you expect equal relations between the United States and the West?" "It simply came to our notice then. Second, and no less important, is the triumphant mood in the West, especially in the United States. Their arrogance and self-confidence were in their heads. "
"They declared victory in the Cold War. In fact, we worked together to move the world away from the confrontation, from the arms race. But no, the "winners" decided to build a new empire. And that's where the idea of NATO enlargement came from. "
Talks between Moscow and Washington on the crisis in and around Ukraine are expected next month. Gorbachev said that "some process [of negotiations] has begun" and hoped for a result that would allow "all European countries to feel safe."
Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said in an interview published today that there was a need to "lower the temperature of the confrontation" between the United States and Russia.
However, he warned that strengthening NATO-Ukraine ties, including the potential deployment of missiles there, would be unacceptable to Russia, "provoking serious military risks for all stakeholders, up to a large-scale conflict in Europe".
Russia's draft treaties, released last week, called on NATO to effectively remove all troops or weapons from countries that joined the Alliance after 1997, meaning most of Eastern Europe, including Poland, the Baltic states and the Balkans.
Analysts say Moscow knows the proposal is unrealistic, but wants to either relinquish some concessions from NATO or blame the Alliance for failing to negotiate.
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