CRISIS IN THE KREMLIN

Netherlands: President Ruud Lubbers, whose country currently presides over the European Community, viewed events in the Soviet Union with optimism. “Everything seems to indicate that we are headed in the right direction and we hope the final result will be along the same lines of today’s events.”

Britain: Prime Minister John Major applauded the restoration of the status quo saying that it “means reform in the Soviet Union is absolutely irreversible, and that’s good news for the Soviet Union and the rest of the world.”

Germany: Upon hearing of the coup’s collapse, hundreds of Germans filled the streets of Dresden and Leipzig to celebrate. German Chancellor Helmut Kohl invited Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin to make an official trip to Germany in the near future. Yeltsin accepted.

Czechoslovakia: Thousands of Czechoslavaks gathered on Prague’s historic Wenceslas Square and welcomed news of the failure of the Soviet coup. Michael Zantovsky, a spokesman for President Vaclav Havel said, “There is some justice in history . . . This had to happen exactly on the day Soviet tanks rolled into Prague 23 years ago.” Havel sent a telegram to Gorbachev.

United Nations: U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar expressed relief that the coup against Mikhail S. Gorbachev failed. “I am relieved and encouraged . . . I am deeply impressed by the courage of those who have stood for democratic values.”

Hungary: Prime Minister Jozsef Antall said the coup should inspire Western Europe to more rapidly integrate the struggling Eastern European democracies into its fold. “The government of Hungary is convinced that upon the events of the last days, the advanced democracies will look upon the dangers threatening our region more realistically.”

Israel: Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir expressed hope that the Middle East peace conference would go ahead as scheduled in October and that Moscow would renew its diplomatic ties with Israel: “We believe that the Soviet government will uphold its international commitments.”

Bulgaria: President Zhelyu Zhelev stated on Bulgarian television: “The failure of the coup has shown the communism is really going from Europe and from . . . the world.”