In 1989 the world chose peace. We need that vision, even today

The Berlin Wall, which for decades had divided not only one city but one state, and all of Europe collapsed in November 1989 and history accelerated its march. Such moments prove the responsibility and wisdom of the statesmen.

The delayed changes in Central and Eastern European countries had taken on a powerful impulse from the democratic process already under way in the Soviet Union. People's demands were becoming increasingly urgent and radical.

In the autumn of 1989, the situation in East Germany XG became explosive. Large groups of people were leaving the country; citizens massed through Hungary and Czechoslovakia, which had opened their western borders. In large cities, people took to the streets, peacefully protesting, but violence with consequences beyond any control could not be disfellowshipped.

In October 1989, I attended celebrations in East Berlin on the 40th anniversary of the GDR's creation. As I greeted the participants in the parade, I almost physically felt the displeasure of people. We knew that they were carefully selected, which made their behavior even more surprising. They cheered: Perestroika! Gorbachev, help!

The subsequent events confirmed that the regime The GDR was rapidly losing ground. Protests and political demands ranging from freedom of migration to freedom of speech and break-up of government bodies to reuniting Germany were winning.

The fall of the Berlin Wall was not thus a surprise to us. The fact that happened on November 9, 1989, was a result of the specific circumstances and evolution of people's spirituality.

Under those conditions, the first step of the Soviet leadership was to rule out the use of military force by Soviet troops deployed in the GDR. At the same time, we did our best to ensure that the process moves along peaceful lines, without affecting the vital interests of our country, or damaging peace in Europe.

This was extremely important because after the fall of the Wall, developments in the GDR became increasingly turbulent. Germany's reunification was now on the agenda, and this would cause concern among Soviet citizens, many of whom were alarmed.

Their concern was understandable, both historically and psychologically. We had to calculate people's memory of war, horrors and its victims. Of course, the Germans had changed; they had learned the teachings of Hitler's reign and World War II. But there are things that cannot be hidden from history. I told Chancellor Kohl, it's important that the Germans manage reunification, respect the feelings of other peoples, and their interests.

We were not the only ones who had these concerns.

Allies of the Federal Republic of Germany (RFGJ) in NATO France, Great Britain, Italy meant no quick reunification. I understood that from my talks with their leaders. In each of the countries that had suffered aggression, she feared as if it were embedded in their genes as if joining RRF and GDR will increase Germany's power. They had serious reasons, though unbroken, historical, and political, for such fears.

I think that the European members of NATO would not be opposed to using Gorbachev to curb reunification. But I realized that resisting a process that was objectively inevitable and, how much more so, using force in any form can lead to unpredictable consequences - an explosion in the center of Europe, a relaunch of the Cold War, and who knows what else! It was our job to avoid this.

Today, by reading some comments and memories of the time, it may seem that the process of reunification was an easy thing, that everything came somewhere from above, or that all happened as a result of the fate or gullibility of some parties. But that was not the case.

Negotiations two plus four included the two German states, the Soviet Union, the US, France and Britain could not be an easy trip. There were debates and conflicts of thought, and sometimes it seemed that misunderstanding would destroy negotiations.

But they succeeded because the parties in this complex diplomatic process showed foresight as well as courage and high sense of responsibility.

However, when I am asked whom I consider to be the principal hero of that time full of drama and turmoil, I always answer: the people. I'm not denying the role of politicians. They were very important. But it was the peoples of two peoples who mattered most. Germans who proclaimed their will for national unity with determination and, most importantly, in a peaceful manner. And of course the Russians, who understood the aspirations of the Germans, who believed Germany had really changed and supported, the will of the German people.

Russians and Germans can be proud that after the tragic bloodshed of war, they understood each other. Had it not been for them, the Soviet government would not have been able to do what it did.

We drafted a final line under the Cold War. Our goal was a new Europe - a Europe without divisive lines. The leaders who came after us have failed to achieve that goal. A modern security architecture, a strong mechanism for prevention and resolution of conflicts, has not been created in Europe. So there are the painful problems and conflicts surrounding our continent today. I call on world leaders to face those problems and resume dialogue for the sake of the future. / Time world.al

Gorbachev, a Nobel laureate, was the only president of the Soviet Union