The politician made such a statement in an interview with Italian publicist Giulietto Chiesa posted on Globalist portal on Saturday.

"I recall when we started the disarmament dialog with Ronald Reagan, I was told in several days after first contacts that US naval vessels entered the Black Sea and approached territorial waters of the Soviet Union. I was asked, "What shall we do?" I understood immediately this was a provocation: someone in the Pentagon did not want that dialog," Gorbachev said, TASS news agency reported.

Handshaking between Putin and Trump is a positive signal, the ex-president said.

"This opportunity should not be missed. It will be challenging but this meeting is very important. It may become a starting point to deliver results seemed to be unachievable now," Gorbachev said.