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Article: Shoe on the other foot. (Soviet Union and the Kuwait-Iraq Conflict, 1990) (Europe)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- August 18, 1990
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1990 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV showed his peasant's disdain for it, by banging a shoe on the desk in the General Assembly. Andrei Gromyko, the Soviet Union's long-lasting foreign minister, was more diplomatic, but cast his veto so often in the Security Council that he was nicknamed "Mr Nyet". Yet, since Iraq invaded Kuwait, there has been no more staunch supporter of the UN than the Soviet Union, even though the Security Council has voted to be very nasty to one of the Russians' old friends. How come?
Mr Mikhail Gorbachev has realised that the Soviet Union cannot survive on military power alone. It needs economic recovery at home and trade with the rich world. He has ditched ...