"I'll never tire of repeating: we need to demilitarise world affairs, international politics, and political thinking. To address this at the highest international level, I am calling on world leaders to convene an emergency special session of the U.N. General Assembly, to be held as soon as the situation is stabilised ... It should be about nothing less than revising the entire global agenda. Specifically, I call upon them to cut military spending by 10% to 15%. This is the least they should do now, as the first step toward a new consciousness, a new civilisation", Gorbachev said in an open-ed for Time magazine.
The world needs an urgent "rethinking of the entire concept of security", Gorbachev said. This year, the world has already found itself on the brink of a clash between great powers — in Iran, Iraq, and Syria, — but wars and an arms race cannot solve global problems, the former Soviet president continued.
"War is a sign of defeat, a failure of politics. The overriding goal must be human security: providing food, water, a clean environment and caring for people's health", Gorbachev argued.
Gorbachev's message comes amid the global health crisis caused by a new strain of the coronavirus. As of 15 April, 1,914,916 cases have been confirmed across the world and 123,010 deaths, the World Health Organisation said in its daily report. Only a handful of countries have not reported any cases so far. At the same time, numerous reports suggest that the number of infected has surpassed the 2-million mark.
The world's largest 20 economies have discussed a plan of action to counter the pandemic and mitigate its economic impact. Similar talks have been held by various other countries, bilaterally or in groups.