Gorbachev considered force to preserve USSR (03/22/98)

Gorbachev considered force to preserve USSR

RFE/RL Newsline

MOSCOW - Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev says he considered using force to prevent the disintegration of the USSR. In an interview with Interfax on March 17, Mr. Gorbachev said he decided to seek other ways to preserve the union in order to avoid bloodshed and dividing the country. He argued that the Soviet Union was not doomed, even after the failed August 1991 coup. Rather, Mr. Gorbachev said he believes that actions by the Russian leadership, with President Boris Yeltsin at the helm, was "the key in deciding the fate of the Soviet Union." Mr. Gorbachev added that, while he "fought for the union to the end," he does not currently favor efforts to restore the USSR. Instead, he supports an economic alliance that in the long term could become a confederation.