Sputnik – Former President of USSR Mikhail Gorbachev said that the Russian-German history goes back not decades, but centuries, hence it is necessary to search for and find any, even the most unconventional path to peace and cooperation.
According to the Gorbachev Foundation’s website, a book published by German politician Wilfried Sharnaglya, ‘On the Brink’, was published in May 2015. The book is dedicated to the topical issues of Russian-German relations. At the request of the author and publisher, Gorbachev wrote the foreword to this book.
In the preface, Gorbachev wrote that the Russian-German history goes back not decades, but centuries; during this time relations between the countries were characterized by mostly good-neighborliness. “There was conflict period also; the most critical time was during Hitler’s regime and the Second World War.”
"The memory of the brutal war, of great sacrifices, imposes upon us the duty to prevent the loss of life in our time. It is necessary to search for and find any, even the most unconventional path to peace and cooperation. Twenty-five years ago we were able to find them. This is our common heritage. It is necessary to protect it,” the former president of the USSR stressed.
He recalled that at one point it was possible to end the ‘Cold War’ and to come to an agreement on the reunification of Germany.
Gorbachev said that the years after the Second World War were not calm, but just like back then, the two countries are able and must cooperate in order to find a solution to the crisis.
