Agence France-Presse, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on June 6 accused the West of adopting a “Cold War mentality” that is straining relations.
The U.S. decision to deploy elements of a missile shield in central Europe is “a decision exactly in the mould of the Cold War mentality,” he was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying. “When they act in this spirit, what do they expect in response? Our Western partners not only practice this rhetoric.
They are acting in the spirit of the Cold War.”
Moscow has reacted furiously to U.S. plans to install a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, while Washington insists it is meant to protect against threats from “rogue states” such as Iran and North Korea.
“When we are convinced that [the missile shield] is not against us but against Iran and North Korea, we will be ready to sit down at the negotiating table… and discuss the reality of these threats,” Lavrov said.
