When the leaders of the Soviet Union’s three Slavic republics met at a secluded hunting lodge near the Polish border on Dec. 8, 1991, they delivered a death blow to the USSR. Their agreement that day triggered shockwaves that are still reverberating.
FILE - Russia's President Boris Yeltsin, second right, Ukraine's President Leonid Kravchuk, second left, Belarus' leader Stanislav Shushkevich, third left, Russia's State Secretary Gennady Burbulis, right, Belarus' Prime Minister Vyacheslav Kebich, third right, and Ukraine's Prime Minister Vitold Fokin, left, sign an agreement terminating the Soviet Union and declaring the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Viskuli, Belarus, on Dec. 8, 1991.
But that blood would be spilled later — in multiple conflicts across the former Soviet republics once yoked under Moscow’s tight control. Shushkevich argued that he and the other leaders saw no point in Gorbachev’s efforts to keep the remaining 12 Soviet republics together. The Baltic republics of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia already had seceded and the failed August coup against Gorbachev by hard-line members of the Communist Party had eroded his authority and encouraged other republics to seek independence.
In the AP interview, Shushkevich said he didn’t expect Gorbachev, whose power was waning rapidly, to try to arrest them. Gorbachev blamed Yeltsin, his archrival, for spearheading the Soviet collapse in a bid to take over the Kremlin. Yeltsin, who died in 2007 at the age of 76, had defended his action by saying the USSR was doomed. The Belovezha agreement, he said, was the only way to avoid a conflict between the central government and the independence-minded republics.
“Kravchuk was focused on Ukraine’s independence,” Shushkevich said. “He was proud that Ukraine declared its independence in a referendum and he was elected president on Dec. 1, 1991.”“The Ukrainian independence referendum and the subsequent decision by the Ukrainian Supreme Soviet to disavow the 1922 Treaty on creation of the USSR put a political and legal completion to the process of disintegration,” Shakhrai said.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The AP Interview: General says US troops to remain in Iraq | AP NewsWASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. commander for the Middle East said Thursday that the United States will keep the current 2,500 troops in Iraq for the foreseeable future, and he warned that he expects increasing attacks on U.S.
Read more »
The AP Interview: 'We want justice' on climate, Nakate says | AP NewsTheAPInterview: 'We cannot adapt to extinction, we cannot adapt to lost cultures, lost traditions, to lost histories, and the climate crisis is taking all of these things away,' activist Vanessa Nakate says.
Read more »
The AP Interview: 'We want justice' on climate, Nakate says | AP NewsTheAPInterview: The world's next big climate conference will be in Africa, and Vanessa Nakate says the continent's activists like herself will need more than just 'sweet phrases' since 'pledges will not stop the suffering of people.'
Read more »
AP Week in Pictures: Global | AP NewsDec. 4-10, 2021 From actor Jussie Smollett leaving the Leighton Criminal Courthouse with his siblings following his conviction on five of six charges that he staged an anti-gay, racist attack on himself nearly three years ago and then lied to Chicago police about it, to a man swimming in the ice cold water of the Bottomless Lake in Serebryany Bor, in Moscow, Russia, to a Ukrainian soldier taking a rest near a fighting position on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels near Katerinivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, this photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images from around the world made or published by The Associated Press.
Read more »
AP Week in Pictures: Latin America and Caribbean | AP NewsDec. 2-8, 2021 This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published by Associated Press photographers in Latin America and the Caribbean. It was curated by AP photo editor Tomas Stargardter in Mexico City.
Read more »
Pandemic mystery: Scientists focus on COVID's animal origins | AP NewsNearly two years into the pandemic, with the death toll passing 5.2 million, more scientists are trying to keep the focus on the animal-to-human theory for the cause of the virus in the hope what's learned can help humans fend off new viruses and variants.
Read more »