Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev says world at ‘dangerous’ point as US-Russia tensions soar
Former leader says both nations need to resume talks to defuse tensions
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has warned that the world had reached a “dangerous point” as tensions between Russia and the United States have spiked over the Syria conflict.
Relations between Moscow and Washington – already at their lowest since the cold war over the Ukraine conflict – have soured further in recent days as the United States pulled the plug on Syria talks and accused Russia of hacking attacks.
The Kremlin meanwhile has suspended a series of nuclear pacts, including a symbolic cooperation deal to cut stocks of weapons-grade plutonium.
“I think the world has reached a dangerous point,” Gorbachev, 85, told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.
“I don’t want to give any concrete prescriptions but I do want to say that this needs to stop. We need to renew dialogue,” he said. “Stopping it was the biggest mistake.”
We need to renew dialogue. Stopping it was the biggest mistake
Adding to the tension over Syria, Russia has announced it intends to establish a permanent naval base on the site of an existing facility it leases at the Syrian port of Tartus, Deputy Defence Minister Nikolai Pankov, Russian news agencies reported.