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Gorbachev: US makes strategic mistakes

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Friday laid the blame for the current low in Russia's relations with the West squarely on Washington, accusing the United States of making major mistakes that had thrown the world into a period of "global disarray."

Russia has fallen out with the United States on a raft of issues, clouding relations and leading some commentators to draw parallels with the Cold War.

Gorbachev, who won the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the Cold War, expressed strong support for President Vladimir Putin's stance on most questions. He traced the roots of the chill with the West to the collapse of the Soviet Union, which, he said, put Washington in an empire-building mood.

After the Soviet demise, "the idea of a new empire, of sole leadership, was born," Gorbachev, 76, said at a news conference.
Read entire article at AP