‘West fomenting new Cold War’
MOSCOW: Top Russian defence and security officials on Wednesday launched diatribes at the West, accusing it of fomenting a new Cold War in a bid to retain waning i nfluence i n global affairs.
Moscow used an annual security conference attended by top defence officials from Asia, Africa and Latin America to harshly criticise the US and its allies, accusing them of putting global stability at risk.
Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu accused the US and its Nato allies of using “the non-existent Russian threat to methodically boost their military potential” and beef up their forces near Russia’s borders.
Shoigu emphasised that the Us-led missile defense program has become a “major destabilising factor inciting an arms race”.
He pointed at a growing number of Nato intelligence flights near Russia’s borders and an increasing pace of Nato’s military drills, noting that they have “a clear anti-russian character”.
“The danger of provocations and military incidents has significantly increased,” Shoigu said.
Russia-west relations have sunk to their lowest level since the Cold War following Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, differences over the war in Syria and the allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.
Shoigu said that Nato has stonewalled Moscow’s attempts to engage in a dialogue, adding that “we aren’t going to knock on the closed door, but will not leave attempts to apply pressure on us unattended”.
He warned that Moscow will respond to Nato’s moves by strengthening its defence capabilities to “ensure military security of Russia and its allies.”
Russia-west tensions further escalated this month after the poisoning of an ex-russian spy in Britain, leading to mass diplomats’ expulsions by the West and Russia. Britain has blamed Russia for the poisoning, accusations which Russia has ferociously denied.