Mikhail Gorbachev
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is forced to refuse to participate in the farewell ceremony for former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on a state of health. On Tuesday, June 27, reports TASS.
“Mikhail Sergeyevich would not be able to participate in the funeral ceremony, because the doctors didn’t recommend him to make such a long journey”, — said the Agency in a press-service of the Gorbachev Foundation.
Earlier it became known that the Russian delegation at this event will be chaired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Kohl died June 16 at age 87 in his home in Ludwigshafen. He served as Chairman of the German government from 1982 to 1998. One of the major achievements in this position was the unification of Germany. The funeral ceremony, which is designed to emphasize not only national but also pan-European scale policy, will be held on 1 July in Strasbourg, France, where the European Parliament.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing condolences, and stressed that Kohl played a key role not only in the unification of Germany, but also in ending the cold war. Putin also said that the German politician had a great influence on him.
Mikhail Gorbachev — last General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist party (1985-1991) and the first and only President of the USSR (1990-1991). 86-year-old politician expressing condolences, called right and fair that the Germans appropriated Helmut Kohl unofficial title of the “Chancellor of German unity”, reports kp.ru.