Reagan Realized That Gorbachev Was Unique Person Who Changed USSR - Interpreter

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Former US President Ronald Reagan realized that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was a unique person who changed the USSR, Dimitry Zarechnak, who interpreted for Reagan during his meetings with Gorbachev, told Sputnik.

Gorbachev died in Moscow on August 30 at the age of 91 after suffering a long illness.

The late leader is known for opening nuclear arms talks with former US President Ronald Reagan, attempting to reform the Soviet system and serving as the last head of the Soviet Union.

“I think Reagan realized that Gorbachev was the unique individual who really turned things around in the Soviet Union that, I think, was really Gorbachev’s first achievement. President Reagan understood that and took advantage of it,” Zarechnak said.

Zarechnak, a son of the White emigre from Russia, interpreted for Reagan during his meetings with Gorbachev in Geneva, Reykjavik, Moscow and Washington, DC in the middle of 1980s. He recalled the very friendly and positive atmosphere of those discussions.

“Even before Gorbachev met with Reagan, we of course knew that he was permitting freedom of expression in the Soviet Union. The first meeting was in Geneva in 1985, the groundwork was already laid, and I think President Reagan had already talked with UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher before that, so the general expectations from the meeting were good, and everything that happened supported those good expectations,” Zarechnak noted.

The whole world was impressed with Gorbachev for the fact that he gave the Soviet people freedom after 70 years of communism, he added.

The first meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev in Geneva lasted almost two hours.

“It was a one-on-one meeting, just Reagan and Gorbachev, and the interpreters with them. They continued with delegations, and then there was a meeting at the fireplace,” Zarechnak said. “Right after that meeting Reagan invited Gorbachev to come to the United States, so it was evidently a very warm and friendly atmosphere.”

The last time Zarechnak saw Gorbachev was at the commemoration of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which occurred in the US city of Atlanta in 2003 with the participation of former US President George H. W. Bush and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

“I was interpreting for Bush, and at the end of the meeting, I asked Gorbachev’s interpreter Pavel Palazhchenko whether I could meet with Gorbachev. He said 'yes, of course,'” he added.

Gorbachev knew Zarechnak very well since their first meeting in 1985 and was glad to see him once again. “We were almost friends, so he gave me a big hug, and he was happy to see me, and I was happy to see him as well,” the interpreter said.