Mikhail Gorbachev warns the US-Russia nuclear arms race has put the world in ‘colossal danger’ of total destruction
FORMER Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has warned the nuclear arms race between Russia and the US poses a “colossal danger” to humanity.
The former world leader has now urged all nations to destroy their nuclear stockpiles in order to “save ourselves and our planet”.
Gorbachev, 88, led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its collapse in 1991 and was instrumental in ending the Cold War with Amrerica.
Last year he criticised Donald Trump for pulling out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty set up to prevent a nuclear holocaust unfolding in Europe.
The move formally terminated the historic agreement that eliminated more than 2,000 missiles stationed around Europe.
Vladimir Putin then followed Trump’s lead by also withdrawing from the pact – famously signed by Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev in 1987.
In a new interview with the BBC, Gorbachev said: “As long as weapons of mass destruction exist, primarily nuclear weapons, the danger is colossal.
“All nations should declare that nuclear weapons should be destroyed. This is to save ourselves and our planet.”
When asked to describe the current diplomatic relations between Washington and Moscow, he replied they were “chilly, but still a war.”
He added: “Look at what is happening. In different places there are skirmishes, there is shooting. Aircraft and ships are being sent here, there and everywhere.”
Earlier this year the US and Nato accused Russia of violating the pact by deploying a new mid-range cruise missile, something which Moscow has denied.
Speaking about the collapse at the time, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “This is serious.
What is the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF)?
The INF treaty bans ground-launched missiles with a range of 500 kilometres (310 miles) to 5,500 kilometres (3,415 miles) and bans either side from stationing land-based missiles in Europe.
It was signed byUS president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to end the build-up or warheads in Europe.
The immediate effect eliminated the US’ Pershing II missiles and the Soveiet Union’s SS-20s – which was a key event in ending the Cold War.
“The INF treaty has been a corner stone in arms control for decades. We have to be prepared for a world… with more Russian missiles.
He said: “This will likely heighten, not reduce, the threat posed by ballistic missiles.”
Russia then began work on new hypersonic missiles and adopted a policy to avoid initiating disarmament talks with the US.
Putin said: “We will wait until our partners have matured enough to conduct an equal, meaningful dialogue with us on this important topic.”
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In the interview Gorbachev with the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg he also spoke of his reaction to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.
“There mustn’t be bloodshed. We couldn’t allow that, over an issue of such magnitude for Germany, for us, Europe, the whole world,” he said.
“So, we declared we would not interfere.”