MOSCOW. May 27 (Interfax) - Former president of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev has on the whole welcomed the results of the Russian- U.S. summit.
"The main thing is that the climate of trust was revived and the presidents of the two countries gave an example to others: businessmen, intellectuals, and young people. It is now important that this atmosphere of trust and partnership transfer to these spheres, too," said Gorbachev in an interview with Interfax on Monday.
The former Soviet leader does not believe that by signing the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions Russia made any concessions. Gorbachev voiced satisfaction on this point by saying, "we insisted on concluding a legally binding treaty."
Gorbachev deems it very important that the signed treaty "refers to the START I system of control, creating "a unique system control." "President [Vladimir] Putin signed the agreement that was possible only in that situation," said Gorbachev.
Noting that Moscow and Washington are still at odds over a number of issues, Gorbachev said that "no one is scowling at one another." "We are not falling into hysterics over this point and admit that we've got to work still more actively," the ex-president stressed.
Although the United States has not canceled the discriminatory anti-Russia Jackson-Vanik amendment yet, Gorbachev suggested that "a signal has been given to U.S. business already," and it has been stepping up cooperation with Russia.
In regard to the upcoming EU-Russia summit, Gorbachev urged the Russian side "to insist on translating talk on cooperation with Russia into action." "What is actually needed is to give Russia an associated membership status in EU," Gorbachev believes.
Commenting on the expulsion from the communist party of the Speaker of the State Duma Gennady Seleznyov and heads of parliamentary committees Svetlana Goryacheva and Nikolai Gubenko, Gorbachev suggested that "this is a crisis [for the Russian Communist Party]." "The domination in the Russian Communist Party of GKChP [State of Emergency Committee during the 1991 events in Russia] followers and fundamentalists has paralyzed the process of party renewal," Gorbachev believes.
He stressed that he treats Seleznyov, Goryacheva, and Gubenko with respect. "They do not limit themselves to communist dogma. They have done correctly [by not resigning their posts in the State Duma] and I am on their side in this respect," the former Soviet leader said.