Russia no "junior partner" for US: Gorbachev

     Mikhail Gorbachev, the ex-Soviet leader credited with a crucial role in ending the Cold War, lamented rising tension in US-Russian relations but made clear Moscow would not be consigned by Washington to the role of "junior partner" on the world stage.
     In an article published in the government daily Rossyskaya Gazeta, Gorbachev said there had of late been "several worrying trends in relations between the United States and Russia" on topics ranging from Middle East security to Russian democracy and influence in former Soviet republics.
     Prominent politicians in both countries -- he singled out US Senator John McCain out in particular -- spoke of the US-Russian bilateral relationship more frequently in terms that smacked of Cold War-style rhetoric and that undermined huge gains made in the past two decades.
     "I can say with full responsibility that the policy of dialogue and cooperation taken by the Russian and US presidents is supported by the political and social circles of our countries," Gorbachev wrote.
"But recently the worry has arisen: Will this policy continue?"
     Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, said "euphoria" that swept Russia in the 1990s about the prospect of close relations with the United States had been replaced by disillusionment after Washington "applauded" radical reformers whose policies plunged Russia into crisis.
     "At the same time, the United States reserved the role for itself in the international arena as prosecutor, judge and policeman. This could not but have been rejected, and not only by Russia."
    Experience in relations between Moscow and Washington dating back to the 1980s and continuing through the administration of former US President Bill Clinton had helped build trust and Russia was interested in cooperation with the United States in a variety of areas.
     "But this must be on the basis of equals. Russia will not accept the role of junior partner that it has been tapped for" by Washington, he said.
     Gorbachev rejected US critics who accuse President Vladimir Putin of rolling democracy back in Russia.
     "Russia is only starting down the road of democratic reform, but it will not stray from this road. President Putin does not want this and he will not establish an authoritarian regime in Russia," he wrote.

Agence France Presse, April 14, 2006