Vladimir Radyuhin. "Delhi Declaration still relevant, says Mikhail Gorbachev"

President of erstwhile Soviet Union foresees a great future for India-Russia ties

     MOSCOW: President of the erstwhile Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, believes that the ideas of the Delhi Declaration on the principles of a nuclear weapon-free and non-violent world are more relevant today than 20 years ago when it was signed.
    The Delhi Declaration, issued by Rajiv Gandhi and Mr. Gorbachev on November 27, 1986, called for the complete destruction of nuclear arsenals before the end of the century, and asserted the importance of solving problems in a non-violent way. It reflected high expectations of a better world after the end of the Cold War, which has since been betrayed, Mr. Gorbachev concedes.
    The United States, which emerged as the world's only superpower after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, "does not know what to do with its status," and "is suffering from a victor's complex," Mr. Gorbachev said. The U.S.-engineered crises in former Yugoslavia, Iraq and Iran prove there is no alternative to the rejection of violence in international affairs preached in the Delhi Declaration, he said.
"Reliance on the use of force, on the role of the world policeman cannot do any good, but can only make processes more painful and provoke explosion," he said. "America's global leadership is only possible through partnership with other nations, respect for their interests and renunciation of dictat and unipolar world."
     Iran and some 30 other nuclear threshold countries can only be persuaded not to aspire to nuclear weapons if the Big Five begin to effectively reduce their nuclear stockpiles. However, the U.S. has embarked on the path of upgrading its nuclear weapons, provoking Russia to do the same, Mr. Gorbachev said.
     "I had a chance to take part in the creation and signing of many important documents. The Delhi Declaration is among the ones I am most proud of," Mr. Gorbachev wrote some time ago.
     Meeting foreign media in Moscow on the eve of his 75th birthday on March 2, Mr. Gorbachev warmly recalled his meetings with Rajiv Gandhi.
     Policy of cooperation
     After the West rebuffed Rajiv Gandhi's overtures, he reverted to the policy course followed by his mother and grandfather, Mr. Gorbachev said.
     "As a result they destroyed both his mother and him, but the policy of cooperation with Russia has survived," Mr. Gorbachev said.
     He foresees a great future for India-Russia relations. "We will remain friends irrespective of government changes in both countries," Mr. Gorbachev said. Russia is committed to friendship with the great democratic India. Our relations have bright prospects."
     The West, by contrast, "is still scared of Russia," Mr. Gorbachev said.
     After his resignation in the wake of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Mr. Gorbachev headed the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies (The Gorbachev Foundation) and Green Cross International.
     The father of perestroika, which gave Russia political and economic freedom, is far more popular outside Russia than inside the country. Over a half of Russians polled recently said Mr. Gorbachev's policies did more harm than good to the country.

"The Hindu", March 1, 2006