Russia Not Fearful of Cold War— Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on August 27, 2008 that Russia neither fears nor seeks a new Cold War, but it depends on the West whether such a war will break out again. He made the remark during during his interview with the BBC at his presidential residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Photo Courtesy AFP

The Russian Federation have been forced to respond to America`s intimidation and despite many fingers being pointed at Moscow, it may be wise to look at the bigger picture in order to understand the current situation. After all, it is abundantly clear that America does not mind breaking international law and forcing many issues throughout the world. Therefore, it is surely reasonable to expect President Medvedev to respond to the current crisis in Georgia but will his gamble pay-off?

If we turn the clock back quickly and go back to the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, then we see a different scenario. Because the Russian Federation responded with not only kindness but more important, they opened up many bases in Central Asia in order to help America. Also, prior to this date the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan had been supported by both the Russian Federation and Iran, respectively. Therefore, Moscow gave America the green light to use Central Asia in order to attack Afghanistan and relations were smoothed with the Northern Alliance because of Russia`s influence.

However, did America respond positively to this gesture in the long-term? Obviously, the answer is no because NATO expansion continued and you also had the Kosovo issue which needed to be resolved. Added to this is negative energy policies whereby America desires to reduce Russia`s influence and of course you have the so-called missile shield which is meant to be aimed at containing Iran`s military. Therefore, when the Czech Republic and Poland agreed to America`s missile shield, this meant further containment of Russia according to both PM Putin and President Medvedev because according to them the "Iran threat" is not real.

More alarmingly, the United States also began to support tensions within the boundaries of the former Soviet Union. This notably applies to the Ukraine and Georgia, however, it is the Georgian leader, Saakashvili, who went a step further because he ignited tensions in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. This major provocation was too much and the Russian Federation believed that it had no option but to protect both the Abkhazians and Ossetians.

Therefore, America was not content with expanding NATO and co-opting the Baltic states because America also wanted to expand within the restive Caucasus region. This stance highlighted America`s "blind intransigence" and it also indicated to the Russian Federation that her own national interests meant nothing to people in Washington. Given this, the Georgian leader believed that he could belittle Moscow but this time both President Medvedev and PM Putin felt obliged to say "enough is enough."

So from the point of view of both PM Putin and President Medvedev, it is clear that America have tried to force Russia "out of the game" via NATO enlargement, energy issues, political meddling, the missile shield debate, and other areas. Therefore, the current Russian backlash was mainly made in Washington and while both sides must pull back from the brink, it is clear that much depends on America. Given this, can both sides reach a solution before something major happens?

For the sake of international relations it is hoped that this current crisis will abate. If not, you will have an erosion of hope and issues like Iran, the war on terrorism, Israel, and other major issues, could collapse. Also, President Medvedev must be a little worried because America may increase their support to pro-democratic movements within the Russian Federation or cause mayhem via Chechnya or Central Asia? At the same time it is clear that Medvedev may isolate his nation within the European Union and much further afield.

Therefore, the stakes are very high and it is hard to say what the outcome will be because both nations have major leverages and this especially applies to America. Yet if America does not respond over Georgia then other nations will no longer trust this nation throughout the region. Given this, America may just find that they have put themselves into a corner and this is troublesome because nobody knows what the response will be at the moment. However, the Russian Federation is also anxious because they do not want to become isolated and international capital flight could weaken the internal economy.

http://journals.aol.com/leejaywalker/uk/
Lee Jay Walker Dip BA MA