Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the man who presided over the collapse of the Soviet Union, says he’s in favor of the troop withdrawal that President Donald Trump is advancing.
In an interview with CNN in Moscow on the same day Trump paid a surprise visit to US troops in Afghanistan, Gorbachev, 88, drew parallels with the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan 30 years ago.
"They must be withdrawn,” he told CNN. “That is the main lesson. You know, it's like a match. The match is lit, a fire spreads. And these clashes, when the leading, largest countries in this conflict become ever more involved, they are dangerous for all nations."
He’s also hopeful arms control agreements can be revived.
"All the agreements that are there are preserved and not destroyed," he said. "But these are the first steps towards destruction of [that which] must not be destroyed in any case. Therefore, if this path goes further, then everything is possible. This must not be allowed."
And, he added, he also hoped it would be possible for Washington and Moscow to find a way to prevent a "hot war" in the future.
"I think this should be avoided," Gorbachev said, when asked about whether the world was entering a dangerous new era of multipolar rivalry between states. "It's good that already all over the world there is a conversation and people are talking, people are reacting, and this is the most important thing.
"Speakers and politicians, people understand that this, the New Cold War, must not be allowed. This might turn out to be a hot war that could mean the destruction of our entire civilization. This must not be allowed."
Gorbachev, whose name in Russia brings associations with the Soviet collapse, is the subject of a "Meeting Gorbachev," a documentary by filmmaker Werner Herzog that goes into wide release in Russia Dec. 5
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