Mikhail Gorbachev says US grew ‘arrogant’ after Soviet Union collapsed
- The ex-USSR leader said the fall of the Soviet Union led to the expansion of the Nato military alliance
- However, he welcomed upcoming security talks between Moscow and Washington to discuss a raft of demands put forward by Putin
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said on Friday that Washington grew “arrogant and self-confident” after the collapse of the Soviet Union, leading to the expansion of the Nato military alliance.
“How can one count on equal relations with the United States and the West in such a position?” Gorbachev told state news agency RIA Novosti on the eve of the anniversary of his resignation as the leader of the USSR.
He noted the “triumphant mood in the West, especially in the United States” after the Soviet Union ceased to exist in 1991.
“They grew arrogant and self-confident. They declared victory in the Cold War,” Gorbachev, 90, said.
He insisted that it was “together” that Moscow and Washington pulled the world out of confrontation and the nuclear race.