'The American and Russian People Don't Want a New Confrontation'

Newsweek, April, 2001 by Jonathan Alter (With Steven Shabad)

With U.S.-Russian relations probably at their lowest point since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev dropped in on the White House this week for a little schmoozing. The two countries have been at odds over arms control, media censorship and espionage. But on Monday, both Bush and Gorbachev were upbeat. "I am naturally an optimist," Gorbachev told reporters. "Today, I am even more an optimist." On Thursday, Gorbachev sat down in New York with NEWSWEEK'S Jonathan Alter. They covered a wide range of subjects, including Gorbachev's relationship with Ronald Reagan, President Putin and Gorbachev's new environmental initiative. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: How are you holding up since your wife's death?

Mikhail Gorbachev: I thought that...

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