Agence France-Presse,
LONDON: Russia is seeking to become a global superpower so that it can determine the future of Europe, and could become a threat in five to ten years, the Czech foreign minister said in an interview published Friday.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Karel Schwarzenberg said: “Russia would like to achieve the same status (vis-a-vis America) that the former Soviet Union had.”
“The two of them, Washington and Moscow, would be the two to decide European issues. I am very sorry, but we consider that is our affair, too.”
The Czech Republic has been proposed as the site for the deployment of an American missile defence radar, which Russia alleges would threaten its security.
Washington insists the missile shield is directed against Iran.
Schwarzenberg added that though Russia was not an imminent threat, “maybe Russia will be a threat once more … In the last few months, there have been some rather surprising occurrences.”
The FT said the minister thought Russia would be a threat in five to ten years.
The Czech minister also described Moscow's decision to pull out of the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty as “very sad and disappointing.”
