Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev comments before the Congress of People's Deputies during debate on his proposal to transform the Soviet Union into a confederation of sovereign states in Moscow on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 1991. Officials also said that Gorbachev has agreed to independence for the Baltic republics and will issue a formal decree making them the first republics to win such recognition from the Soviet Union. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
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