SPECIAL EDITION: CRISIS IN THE KREMLIM : Around World, Coup Draws Condemnation and Demonstrations : <i> Here’s how news of the ouster of Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev was received worldwide as reported by Times correspondents, researchers and wire services:</i> : Iraqis Overjoyed
BAGHDAD — Iraqis welcomed Gorbachev’s removal, with individuals here expressing their joy at the fall of a leader who many say betrayed them in the Persian Gulf crisis.
An official spokesman, commenting after a meeting of the Iraqi leadership chaired by President Saddam Hussein, said Iraq considered the Soviet Union a friend and would respond to any positive moves by its new leaders.
“The former Soviet regime followed a policy that negatively affected the international situation and had negative consequences in Third World countries, especially Iraq,” the official told the Iraqi News Agency.
Under Gorbachev, the Soviet Union, once Iraq’s main arms supplier, stood with the United States and other Western members of the U.N. Security Council against the invasion of Kuwait.
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