|
|
|
Gorbachev meanwhile was struggling to halt the Soviet Union's slow but relentless economic deterioration. Trying to initiate a Soviet response to the U.S. missile-shield program was a heavy burden on the Kremlin treasury already strained by the inefficient and corrupt Soviet command economy.
Gennady Gerasimov, the Foreign Ministry spokesman under Gorbachev, told The Associated Press that Star Wars was "very successful blackmail. ... The Soviet economy couldn't endure such competition."
From the AP.
Posted by Ted at June 7, 2004 8:49 PM