U.S. needs its own "perestroika", says Gorbachev

U.S. needs its own "perestroika", says Gorbachev

MOSCOW -- Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has said that the United States "needs reforms similar to those during perestroika ("restructuring")."

He told the Russian broadcaster RT he believes that country should undergo political and economic reforms like those in the former Soviet Union during his rule in the 1980s.

"They can call it any name they want, the American way. Americans do not want a war. But it is not easy for them, with the society that they have," Gorbachev was quoted as saying.

The U.S. "uses tensions and instability to intervene into a conflict, then creates an enemy to enable their 'policy of pressure' and shift responsibility," he said.

"Whenever tensions are high, whenever there's instability in a certain country or throughout the region, it's an opportunity to intervene," said Gorbachev, and added:

"The U.S. needs an enemy in order to return to their old policy of pressure. They can't live without it. They are still enslaved by their old policy."

Speaking on the Ukraine crisis, he said that the current situation is similar, with the U.S. looking for "some pretext to interfere...they need an enemy figure, and they are doing it again."