‘Ghost of Soviet Union’ Still Haunting Washington, Russian Ambassador Says
Мозаичный портрет основателя Советского Союза Владимира Ленина на станции метро в Москве
WASHINGTON, December 18 (Sputnik) – In its relations with Russia, the United States is still driven by a “Cold War” mentality and finds it hard to accept the changes on the international arena, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said in an interview with Newsweek. “Washington seems to need to constantly assert itself through competition with Russia. It looks as if the ‘ghost’ of the Soviet Union is still haunting the corridors of power in the American capital, and the ‘Сold War’ has not ended at all,” Antonov said. According to the Russian ambassador, the United States is driven by a feeling of “exceptionalism,” which is why it wanted to create an area of instability at Russia’s borders. In addition, many American politicians still act in accordance with the “Cold War” mentality and find it hard to accept the “restoration of Russia’s international prestige” under President Vladimir Putin, Antonov said. “At the same time, one can always shift the blame for its own problems and miscalculations onto the Russian Federation and use Russia to justify its unprecedented military spending. In addition, under the pretext of the developments in Ukraine, the administration is ruining mutually beneficial ties between Russia and Europe, making the latter fully dependent on Washington,” the Russian ambassador told Newsweek. He emphasized that it will take a long time to build a multipolar world and, as part of that complex journey, the Russia-US standoff must be mutually respectful. Earlier this month, Antonov said that, instead of escalating the current situation with baseless accusations, Washington should consider whether the direction of its relations with Moscow was in line with its international obligations.
