Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the Resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev as General Secretary of the Soviet Union Communist Party

It has been announced that President Gorbachev has resigned as General Secretary of the Communist Party and has requested that the Central Committee of the Party disband. We welcome this news as another step forward in the reform process.

Today Ambassador Strauss attended the funeral of those killed defending against the attempted coup in the Soviet Union. The Ambassador read a Presidential message to the mourners at the funeral. Afterwards, he presented his credentials to President Gorbachev at the Kremlin and had a 1-hour meeting with him. Later in the day, Ambassador Strauss had a 40-minute meeting with Russian Republic President Yeltsin. He expects to continue his meetings with a variety of political figures in Moscow.

The G - 7 will convene in London on August 29, 1991, at the sherpa level. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Robert Zoellick will represent the United States.