*Russia's Gorbachev says U.S. is sowing world disorder*

By Guy Faulconbridge
Reuters
Friday, July 27, 2007; 9:13 AM

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev criticized
the United States, and current President George W. Bush in particular,
on Friday for sowing disorder across the world by seeking to build an
empire.

Gorbachev, who presided over the break-up of the Soviet Union, said
Washington had sought to build an empire after the Cold War ended but
had failed to understand the changing world.

"The Americans then gave birth to the idea of a new empire, world
leadership by a single power, and what followed?" Gorbachev asked
reporters at a news conference in Moscow.

"What has followed are unilateral actions, what has followed are wars,
what has followed is ignoring the U.N. Security Council, ignoring
international law and ignoring the will of the people, even the American
people."

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Bush say they are friends but ties
have been strained by U.S. plans for a missile defense shield in Europe,
disagreements over Kosovo and the war in Iraq, and competition for
allies in the former Soviet Union.

Many Russians view the United States as a rival and enemy.

Gorbachev, 76, who left politics after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet
Union, is deeply unpopular in Russia. Though feted abroad, he is blamed
in Russia for sinking the Soviet empire and plunging millions into poverty.

"When I look at today's world I have a worrying feeling about the growth
of world disorder," he said.

"I don't think the current president of the United States and his
administration will be able to change the situation as it is developing
now -- it is very dangerous," he said.

Gorbachev said Russia's hopes of building stronger ties with Washington
had waned in the face of a series of U.S. administrations interested in
building an empire.

"It is a massive strategic mistake: no single centre can command the
entire world, no one," he said. "Current America has made so many mistakes."

He said the U.S. administration was apparently unable to adapt to a
swiftly changing world and had ignored -- or was unable to see -- the
rise of Brazil, Russia, India and China as economic heavyweights.

Treaties limiting the number of nuclear weapons should be observed, he
said, adding that officials in Washington should be wary of sparking a
new arms race.

Gorbachev, who became Soviet leader in 1985, battled against the
conservative wing of the Communist Party to push through reforms that
dismantled the one-party system, freed the press and ended restrictions
on religion.

The father of "glasnost" (openness) said he supported Putin's policies
but that the pro-Kremlin United Russia party had eroded democratic rights.

He said Putin's "seriousness" as a leader would be assured if he left
office according to the constitution. Putin says he will leave office in
2008 after two terms in office.