At 85 Former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev is still Working toward a Nuclear Weapons Free World. The Leaders of the superpowers should heed his proposal.

On the occasion of President’s Day in the USA, I’d like to present part of an article that Mr. Gorbachev- the former President of the Soviet Union (now Russia)- has written in the New York Times magazine, and published in the February 13, 2017, issue. Although, he is not an American president, he is a great President who reserves recognition for his peace efforts.

In 1982 President Gorbachev and president Ronald Reagan signed a nuclear agreement in order to reduce the number of nuclear warheads of both the USA and Russia.
Today after more than 30 years, at age 85 former President  Gorbachev is still working toward this goal- avoid a nuclear war. Let me present his recent views about nuclear armaments, which were published a few weeks ago, in the February 13, 2017, edition of the NY Times magazine.

This is what he said, and I quote;
       “The nuclear threat once again seems real. Relations between the great powers have been going from bad to worse for several years now. The advocates for arms buildup and the military-industrial complex are rubbing their hands.
    We must break out of this situation. We need to resume political dialogue aimed at joint decisions and joint action.
    There is a view that the dialogue should focus on fighting terrorism. This is indeed an important, urgent task. But as a core of a normal relationship and eventually partnership, it is not enough.
    The focus should once again be preventing war, phasing out the arms race and reducing arsenals. The goal should be to agree not just on nuclear-weapons levels and ceilings but also on missile defense and strategic stability.
    In the modern world, wars must be outlawed, because none of the global problems we are facing can be resolved by war- not poverty, the environment, migration, population growth or shortage of resources.
    I urge the members of the U.N. Security Council- the body that bears primary responsibility for international peace and security- to take the first step. Specifically, I propose that a Security Council meeting at the level of heads of state adopt a resolution stating that nuclear war is unacceptable and must never be fought.
    I think that the initiative to adopt such a resolution should come from Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin- the presidents of two nations that hold over 90% of the world’s nuclear arsenals and therefore bear a special responsibility.”

I hope and pray that President Trump will seriously consider Mr. Gorbachev proposal and lead and support such a resolution, which could result in reducing and eventually eliminating all nuclear weapons and the threat of a nuclear war. I believe that this task would be the most important step toward peace and security.