Putin and Obama must start talking, warns Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev is “very alarmed” by the rapid worsening of relations between Russia and the United States, fuelled by the Syrian crisis.

The former Soviet president, who helped to end the Cold War, argued yesterday that it was essential that Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin sit down together during the G20 summit in

St Petersburg this week to reverse a “dangerous” trend. “I think that it will be very important to take this opportunity to meet at this moment,” Mr Gorbachev told The Times.

Relations between Washington and Moscow have turned sour since Mr Putin returned to the Kremlin for a third term as President in May last year. Human rights, adoption, spying accusations, foreign policy and Russia’s decision to grant asylum to Edward Snowden, the American intelligence leaker, have all led to friction.

Last month Mr Obama cancelled a meeting with Mr Putin in Moscow. There are no plans for the two leaders to meet on the sidelines of the summit, but Mr Putin said at the weekend that the G20 was “a good platform to discuss the problem \”, and asked: “Why not take advantage of this?”

Asked about the seriousness of the gap opening up between the Kremlin and the White House, the former Soviet leader said: “I am very concerned, very alarmed.” He added: “The trend seems dangerous and I believe that it’s very important to do everything possible to stop that process of deterioration. My view is that President Putin and President Obama are capable of reversing this deterioration, even though both seem to be under great pressure.”

For Mr Gorbachev, the most important consideration is that any military intervention in Syria should have UN Security Council backing, as it did when his Soviet administration supported the UN mandate to attack Iraq in 1990. Mr Gorbachev, who has applauded the British Parliament’s vote against airstrikes on Syria, believes that “Russia will co-operate” if presented with compelling evidence of chemical weapons use by Damascus.

The Times, 04.09.2013