Story highlights "I'm always with the free will of the people," Mikhail Gorbachev says of Crimea annexationGorbachev to British publication: U.S. rubbed "its hands with glee" over Soviet Union's collapseMoscow (CNN) The Ukraine has banned Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, after he came out in support of Russia's annexation of Crimea. The two neighboring nations have been in conflict since 2014 when pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine and Russian forces annexed the Crimean Peninsula following a political crisis in Ukraine. Gorbachev's comments on Crimea are the latest wedge between Ukraine and Russia. Gorbachev's spokesman, Vladimir Polyakovm, said the former leader knew Ukraine was mulling the ban and had earlier brushed it off, saying he did not travel to the country anyway. The ban comes after Gorbachev gave an interview this week to The Sunday Times magazine , saying he would have acted the same way as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Crimea if he were Russia's leader today.

Source: CNN May 27, 2016 08:22 UTC