Gorbachev to attend Reagan funeral

Mikhail Gorbachev will attend the state funeral of former President Ronald Reagan in Washington.

The former Soviet leader is to fly to Washington from Germany after an appearance at an awards ceremony, said his assistant Vladimir Polyakov.

Despite hawkish comments by Reagan including calling the Soviet Union an “evil empire”, Reagan and Gorbachev worked together to steer their superpower nations away from the brink of nuclear war and toward the end of Moscow’s empire.

“He has already entered history as a man who was instrumental in bringing about the end of the Cold War,” Gorbachev said on learning of Reagan’s death.