Former Russian CGS says war with NATO possible

(Interfax – Moscow, December 1, 2014) The “cold war” between Russia and the West never ended, and under certain circumstances it may move into the “hot” phase, former Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Army Gen Yuriy Baluyevskiy believes.

“The armed forces of the USA, of NATO in general, are “honed” today towards fighting against Russia, and tomorrow, in the future, towards a fight against China. They do not see any other enemy. Is a military conflict with Russia possible today? Unfortunately, I believe that it is. It is possible if certain conditions emerge,” Baluyevskiy said, addressing a meeting of the Analysis club on the topic “Cold War 2.0: Realities and Prospects”, held at Trade and Industry Chamber on Monday [1 December].

Among the conditions that may be a catalyst for a military conflict, Baluyevskiy named “a profound crisis in the Russian economy, the weakening of the top-down power structure, an increase in antistate and other protest sentiment in society, the further weakening of combat efficiency of the Armed Forces, and above all of the general-purpose forces, and the nuclear forces’ losing their deterrent functions”.

One of the main questions in the discussion was whether the assessment of the current international situation as a new “cold war” in the 2.0 “version” was correct.

“The cold war was and is there, it goes on; participants in the meeting were quite right when they said so. Only the forms of waging this war have changed, they have now become more sophisticated,” Baluyevskiy noted.

An armed conflict between Russia and NATO, if it is destined to flare up, “will begin with information and psychological pressure on people’s minds, and military force proper will be the final stage of the process that we are already seeing today”, Baluyevskiy believes.

The general also noted that the USSR, which collapsed in 1991, was “a most powerful state with most powerful Armed Forces”. “And whatever anyone says, I am convinced: we did not lose the arms race then. We did not lose in the economic rivalry. Yes, we had problems, but on the whole the Soviet Union lost the most important thing, the fight for the individual and for society,” Baluyevskiy said.

He also stressed that even if Russia met all the demands of the USA and NATO, “they will still find something to accuse us of”.

Asked whether the “cold war” process could be stopped, Baluyevskiy said: “Unfortunately, I believe it is no longer possible. The mechanism has been set in motion, our adversaries’ aims have been clearly defined: while we are alive, they will try to prevent Russia becoming their equal partner militarily or economically.”