Ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev says Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump should focus on arms control, ensure strategic stability

Moscow: Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev says if Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump hold a summit, they should focus on curbing the US-Russia arms race and ensuring strategic stability. [caption id=“attachment_1750545” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Reuters[/caption] Gorbachev’s comments on Friday to the Interfax news agency comes amid speculation that the US and Russian presidents will meet next month. He hopes the two leaders “will confirm adherence to the main nuclear disarmament treaties — the START and INF Treaties.” Both the United States and Russia have accused each other of violating the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces treaty, which calls for eliminating stockpiles of ground-launch and cruise nuclear missiles with a range of between 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,400 miles). Trump reportedly has criticised the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which succeeds the one signed by Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan in 1987.