The mayor of Hiroshima recalled the words of the first president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, in his speech.
At a memorial ceremony for the victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Kazumi Matsui recalled the former head of state's calls for peace and an end to the arms race.
Mayor Matsui's speech was published on the Hiroshima City Hall website .
He recalled that Gorbachev once said the following words: “We need peace and an end to the arms race.”
The former Soviet Union president's words came as the pro-democracy movement intensified in 1989 after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
At the time, Gorbachev called for the abandonment of nuclear weapons in favor of resolving conflicts through political means.
According to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the devastating consequences of the use of nuclear weapons should push countries to ensure peaceful coexistence.
