Gorbachev calls Helmut Kohl great European, praises his skill in reaching agreements with political partners
MOSCOW. June 26 (Interfax) - Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev has called for the use of the political heritage of former German chancellor Helmut Kohl and his "skill of interaction with partners."
"Now that the situation in the world has aggravated to dangerous levels, his skill of interaction with partners, his experience of going from enmity to cooperation and trust are truly priceless. I hope that today's politicians will be able to use this experience, and the sooner the better," a report posted on Gorbachev's website on Monday said.
Gorbachev also spoke about Kohl's role in the reunion of the FRG and the GDR. "We then made an attempt together, which was largely successful, to stop looking at each other through the nuclear crosshairs and to start forging relations of mutual trust. The reunion of Germany became possible in that atmosphere," he said.
Gorbachev said Kohl was "a great European" who "found it necessary to caution the West against the policies of disregard of Russia."
Helmut Kohl, former chancellor of Germany, died in his home in Ludwigshafen, Rheinland-Pfalz, on June 16 at the age of 87.
Kohl was elected federal chancellor of Germany on October 1, 1982 after a vote of no confidence was declared in then-chancellor Helmut Schmidt. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Kohl put forward an initiative on the reunion of the FRG and the GDR, which occurred in October 1990.
