US and Russia on the verge of 'new Cold War'
- By Yin Chengde
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 23, 2015
The US pursues increasingly aggressive strategies against Russia partly because it perceives Russia's national power as too diminished to wage a meaningful fight, and now it has to face the music. In the meantime, there are other underlying factors at play.
First, Russia has inherited the military strength of the Soviet Union, and the two countries are on par as two nuclear powers, hence mutually assured "nuclear terror" destruction has been maintained. Recently, a former high-ranking Russian official said that the country had the ability to "wipe the US off the face of the planet" in a few dozen minutes. The US regards Russia as a simmering security threat, and is keen to blunt its "nuclear teeth" through containment.
Second, the US deems Russia as an inherently expansionary power. President Obama accused President Putin of attempting to "recreate the glories of the Soviet empire", suggesting that Russia was working to restore the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union to compete for supremacy with the US. Consequently, the US must take preemptive actions to forestall Russia.
Third, President Putin defied sweeping reforms modeled on the Western political and economic architectures, and followed a different path based on Russia's circumstances. Russia was deemed as a heterodox state, and under persistent pressure from the U.S., hoping to influence the course Russia pursued.
Fourth, Russia stands for a multi-polar world, as opposed to a hegemonic system, which goes against the grains of the global system sought by the US. Washington stands poised to adopt containment strategies against Russia so as to maintain its supremacy as a hegemonic power.
There are excuses galore for a biased mind. US accusations against Russia are merely a security-concern myth. Russia has never done anything on its own to provoke the US or its allies. Rather, it is the US that takes preemptive actions against Russia, including the latest tensions surrounding Ukraine. The US accused Russia of aggravating the Ukraine crisis, but on the other hand it went so far as to dispatch legions of experts to help the opposition armies in Ukraine with their military training, adding fuel to the ongoing tensions in the region, and severely violating the spirit of the Minsk agreement.
It is unlikely that the US and Russia would go down the path of a military showdown, but the confrontation between the US-led bloc and Russia is sure to continue or escalate. This augurs a zero-sum outcome for all stakeholders, and severe negative scenarios for the European region and the world at large. The solution rests with the key players. All parties concerned must exercise restraint, act with reason, and accommodate each other's concerns, in order to take the heat out of the confrontation between the West and Russia. Fundamentally, the Cold War mindset must be dispensed with, and US should banish the thought of turning Ukraine into another "satellite state" of the West. Instead, it should start working on Kiev authorities to adopt a more neutral stance, away from their lopsided inclination towards the West while alienating Russia. This represents the only solution, and too much is at stake not to give it a chance.
Yin Chengde is a research fellow of China Foundation for International Studies.
The article was first published on Chinausfocus.com, see more at: http://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/u-s-and-russia-on-the-verge-of-new-cold-war/#sthash.wbvEfLgi.dpuf
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