MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev calls on the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution on the inadmissibility of nuclear warfare which is to be initiated by the Russian and U.S. leaders, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
In an article published in the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily, the former Soviet leader says the current global situation indicates that "dangerous tendencies" are growing.
Epidemics of broken promises
"It looks like the political world is in the grip of an illness, even epidemics of broken liabilities and promises, demagogical slogans and mutual accusations," he notes. "At the same time, all recognize that the arms race is back in place."
"Thus, army units, tanks, armored vehicles, NATO and Russian troops and weapons are being deployed in Europe. The sides used to keep these forces at a quite a distance from each other and now they are deploying them literally over open sights," he writes.
"Military spending is going up, states’ budgets lack funds for major social needs. Instead, money goes to state-of-the-art weapons as lethal as mass destruction weapons. They find money for submarines capable of destroying nearly half of the continent by just one shot. They find money for missile defense which shatters strategic stability," he goes on to say.
Statements by politicians and the military, which sound "more and more belligerent," military doctrine wordings, which look "more and more dangerous," convey the impression that "the world is getting prepared for a war," Gorbachev notes. "Talk about a possible nuclear threat is again afloat around the world."
Russia and the United States responsible for peace
The former Soviet president calls on great powers to "find a way out of this situation" and "resume political dialogue geared towards joint solutions and actions." However he does not overemphasize the necessity of joint anti-terrorism efforts. Although an important and urgent task, it is not enough to serve as a basis, a pivot of normal relations that can develop into partner relations in future," he argues.
Gorbachev stresses he is confident that "the issue of preventing warfare, rolling back the arms race and cutting arms arsenals" is to be brought in the focus of attention. "The goal is to reach agreements not only on the levels and upper limits of nuclear weapons, but also on missile defense and strategic stability," he trumpets. "Wars must be outlawed in the present-day world. Not a single global problem of today, either poverty, ecology, migration, population growth or scarcity of resources, can be solved by military means."
That is why he calls on the members of the United Nations Security Council as a body directly responsible for maintaining peace and security to make the first step. My concrete proposal is as follows: a resolution on inadmissibility of nuclear warfare should be passed at a Security Council meet at the level of heads of state."
"It would be right if such a resolution be initiated by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump as the presidents of the countries possessing more than 90% of global nuclear arsenals. They bear special responsibility," the former Soviet leader underscores, adding that the Russian and US leaders "have possibilities to demonstrate the kind of leadership that is needed today."
To free humankind from fear
Gorbachev sees a "common goal" in freeing people from fears stemming from the military threat. "Today, the burden of fear and psychological tension is looming large over millions of people. This fear is rooted in militarism, armed conflicts, arms race, nuclear bane," he underscores.
Relived of these fears, people will feel "freer," he believes. "And it will be easier to solve many other problems.".