Cold War Veterans Blog

New mindset in Moscow

Is The World Moving Towards Cold War Mark II?

Excerpt

By Sumer Kaul

By all accounts, Putin’s Russia has broken out of its post-USSR down-and-out mould and raised its fists again. It has signaled, in more ways than one, that it has had enough of Bush America’s sole superpower swagger and invasive globe-stomping. It is particularly inflamed by the induction of new weaponry in Europe and the planned extension of the anti-missile shield on its periphery.
Russians see this as a direct threat to their security. Naturally enough, they don’t like it and have decided not to take it lying down any longer. This is clear from the frontal criticism of the United States by the Russian President in recent months. The following extracts from Putin’s pronouncements, at home and abroad, amply illustrate the new mindset in Moscow.

Illegitimate action

~ “The United States has overstepped. its borders in all spheres … and has imposed itself on other states. One-sided illegitimate action has not solved a single problem and has generated more conflicts and many human tragedies.”
~ “The missile shield has turned Europe into a powder keg…. It creates an illusion of protection but the possibility that a nuclear conflict is unleashed is actually greater.”
~ “Enlargement of Nato is in no way connected to today’s global threat ~ terrorism. Why is it necessary to put military infrastructure on our border?”
~ “Our American partners have left ABM (the landmark 1972 treaty limiting the missile defences of the old superpowers). They are stuffing eastern Europe with new weapons; a new base in Bulgaria, another in Romania, a site in Poland, radar in the Czech Republic… What are we supposed to do? We cannot just observe this … We have warned them that we will come out with a response to protect ourselves and maintain the strategic balance in the world.”

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