Gorbachev to Visit Prague Later This Week Despite Flu
MOSCOW — Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev still has a touch of influenza, but he will pay a delayed visit to Czechoslovakia later this week despite the illness, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday.
Ministry spokesman Gennady I. Gerasimov’s comments were the first by a Soviet official on the leader’s reported illness, alternately described as a cold and the flu. First mentioned by Czechoslovak officials Sunday, it is Gorbachev’s first reported illness since he gained power in March, 1985.
Some Western reports suggest that Gorbachev, 56, has differences with Czechoslovak leaders, who are among the most conservative in the Soviet Bloc. President Gustav Husak and associates have hinted at a cautious approach to reforms introduced in the Soviet Union.
Gerasimov refused to say precisely when Gorbachev would depart for Prague.
Gorbachev appeared in good health during last week’s Moscow visit by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain.
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