Gorbachev says British leadership panders to the United States

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev accused the United Kingdom's government of creating problems for itself by trying to please only the United States at the expense of other partners. Discussing the ongoing row between the U.K. and Russia over Moscow's refusal to extradite a murder suspect, Gorbachev said the British leadership "is trying to be a good partner only for the United States, and often ends up in situations for which it later finds it difficult to justify itself to its people." "Russia sees this, and cannot encourage such an approach, but is ready to constructively resolve current problems," he told journalists in Moscow. Gorbachev, 76, called for dialogue between Russian and British politicians to overcome the dispute.