Former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev says US missile shield plans are standing in the way of a pan-European security system.
In a Wednesday interview with Interfax, Gorbachev blamed Washington for failing to discuss its missile plans in Eastern Europe with NATO.
Washington says it plans to deploy 10 long-range missile interceptors in Poland and a radar site in the Czech Republic to counter threats from 'rogue states' such as Iran and North Korea.
Gorbachev described the expansion of the European Union and NATO following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 as two 'serious mistakes' which hindered the formation of a common European security system.
The leader of Russia's Union of Social-Democrats held former Russian president Boris Yeltsin responsible for NATO's expansion.
"When Yeltsin was once asked to comment on Poland's plans to join NATO, he said the decision was up to the country - whether to enter NATO or not," Gorbachev said.
The former communist leader said that along with several former heads of European states, he was drafting an address to the European Parliament to consider the formation of a pan-European security system.
On the current US foreign policy, Gorbachev said that 'their stake on force did not and will not work'. However, he added that Russia should be prepared for dialogue and consensus with any US administration.
The former Soviet leader also said that the recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia's independence by Russia 'was not the best option'. A solution that would maintain 'Georgia's integrity' and provide the two republics with more autonomy would be 'the best option'.
AKM/MMN