MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th January, 2021) Ex-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said the political turmoil in ex-Soviet republics, including Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, is the result of "difficulties of transition to democracy," adding that they could have been less painful if the Union had been preserved in one form or another.
"Certainly, what is happening with our neighbors is of great concern for me. These are the difficulties of transition to democracy. If we had managed to keep the [Soviet] Union in some form, I am sure there would have been fewer of them [fewer problems]. But I believe that the peoples are capable of overcoming this," Gorbachev told Sputnik in an interview.
The ex-Soviet leader recalled that he had commented on the situation in Belarus in last fall's interview with The Times, during which he told the outlet that he admired Belarusians.
"And this people must be given an opportunity to find their own path, they will be able to do it, I am sure. If it is necessary to carry out constitutional changes, the Belarusians will agree on it themselves, there is no need to interfere in this. There is a need for a responsible attitude of all participants in this process," he added.
In 2020, the post-Soviet space became a hotbed of unrest and rising tensions. In Belarus, the opposition defied President Alexander Lukashenko after his reelection for the sixth term. In Kyrgyzstan, unrest following legislative elections ousted then-President Sooronbay Jeenbekov.
