--- description: The former Soviet leader called for the U.S. and Russia to act immediately and improve relations title: Gorbachev Calls For U.S.-Russia Summit to Thaw Relations image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt48a43864266dae5e/69876df6524fc08c8bdeb517/gorbachev-russia-us-relations.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [russia](/tag/russia/) ## russia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Gorbachev on U.S.-Russia Relations: 'We May Not Live Through These Days' ## Video: Russia Vs America: the Hollywood Smackdown [Watch (HLS stream): Russia Vs America: the Hollywood Smackdown](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sWrLUJ1S.m3u8) (2:40)  _Published 2013-09-20. You think Obama and Putin's clash over Syria is bad, check out how Hollywood exploited over 40 years of animosity between Russia and America._ by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 10, 2014 3:07 PM CUT  Former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev attends a symposium on security in Europe 25 years after the fall of the "Wall" in Berlin on Nov. 8, 2014. Former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev attends a symposium on security in Europe 25 years after the fall of the "Wall" in Berlin on Nov. 8, 2014.Odd Andersen—AFP/Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 10, 2014 3:07 PM CUT Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, called Wednesday for a U.S.-Russia summit to thaw relations between the two countries in the wake of the Ukraine crisis. Gorbachev, whose policies played a key role in ending the Cold War as well as democratizing Russia and the satellite states of the former Soviet Union, warned that the standoff between the U.S. and Russia could lead to another Cold War, Reuters reports. “This is extremely dangerous, with tensions as high as they are now. We may not live through these days: someone could lose their nerve,” he wrote Wednesday in the government daily _Rossiyskaya Gazet._ **MORE**: [Vladimir Putin, TIME Person of the Year runner-up](http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-runner-up-vladimir-putin/ "undefined") “I suggest the leaders of Russia and the United States think about holding a summit with a broad agenda, without preliminary conditions,” Gorbachev added. The enmity between Moscow and the West is the worst since the Cold War ended, with the United States, NATO and European Union accusing Russia of fomenting unrest in eastern Ukraine. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/10/us-ukraine-crisis-gorbachev-idUSKBN0JO1F320141210?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews "undefined")\] Gorbachev Calls For U.S.-Russia Summit to Thaw Relations ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3627699/mikhail-gorbachev-united-states-russia-summit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3627699/mikhail-gorbachev-united-states-russia-summit/"},"headline":"Gorbachev on U.S.-Russia Relations: 'We May Not Live Through These Days'","datePublished":"2014-12-10T15:07:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:43:43.556Z","description":"The former Soviet leader called for the U.S. and Russia to act immediately and improve relations","url":"https://time.com/3627699/mikhail-gorbachev-united-states-russia-summit/","keywords":["russia"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt48a43864266dae5e/69876df6524fc08c8bdeb517/gorbachev-russia-us-relations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt48a43864266dae5e/69876df6524fc08c8bdeb517/gorbachev-russia-us-relations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GERMANY-HISTORY-WALL-25YEARS","caption":"GERMANY-HISTORY-WALL-25YEARS","creditText":"Odd Andersen—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/russia/","name":"russia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3627699/mikhail-gorbachev-united-states-russia-summit/","name":"Gorbachev on U.S.-Russia Relations: 'We May Not Live Through These Days'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Russia Vs America: the Hollywood Smackdown","description":"You think Obama and Putin's clash over Syria is bad, check out how Hollywood exploited over 40 years of animosity between Russia and America.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/sWrLUJ1S/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-09-20T03:20:34.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sWrLUJ1S.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3627699/mikhail-gorbachev-united-states-russia-summit/","duration":"PT2M40S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3627699/mikhail-gorbachev-united-states-russia-summit/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```