“I would like to use this solemn day for you to once again thank you for your personal participation in peacefully overcoming the Cold War, as well as completing the unification of Germany,” the message says.
As noted by Merkel, Germany does not forget the contribution of the politician to the unification and his personal efforts in the name of friendly relations between the two countries.
In turn, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in his Twitter called Gorbachev "the father of glasnost and perestroika."
Earlier, Russian leader Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to Gorbachev on the occasion of his 90th birthday.