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Gorbachev thinks new Union in borders of USSR is possible

On 8 December 1991 the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus Boris Yeltsin, Leonid Kravchuk and Stanislav Sushkevich signed Belavezha Accords on the dissolution of USSR

Mikhail Gorbachev Alexander Scherbak/TASS

Mikhail Gorbachev

© Alexander Scherbak/TASS

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Gorbachev explains why he did not arrest signatories to Belavezha Accords in 1991

MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. Former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev does not rule out the formation of a new Union in the borders of the former Soviet Union.

In an interview with TASS devoted to the 25th anniversary of the collapse of USSR, Gorbachev said, "The Soviet Union cannot be restored. But a new Union can be established. In the former borders, with the same members, on the basis of free will. I think a new Union is possible."

On 8 December 1991 the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus Boris Yeltsin, Leonid Kravchuk and Stanislav Sushkevich signed Belavezha Accords on the dissolution of USSR and establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On 25 December 1991 Mikhail Gorbachev resigned from the position of USSR president.

The full text of the interview is available at http://tass.com/politics/918866

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