Interfax: Russian-US differences on Syria not cold war – pundit

(Interfax – Moscow, September 5, 2013) Russia does not set itself the objective of establishing influence in the Middle East and there is no reason either to speak of a “cold war” with the USA, chairman of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy (SVOP) Fedor Lukyanov believes.

“The positions (of the Russian Federation and the USA) are indeed diametrically opposite. They cannot move any farther apart but there are no discernible chances for a rapprochement. So conceptually they are different. Yet there can be no ‘cold war’ in the classic understanding of the phrase. During the ‘cold war’, the opposing sides, the Soviet Union and the United States, were pursuing, each for itself, the same goal: they were fighting for influence,” Lukyanov told Interfax on Thursday (5 September).

Unlike the USA, Russia does not pursue the goal of gaining influence in the Middle East region, he said. “In America, a great many people try to present the situation as if it is Russia that is fighting against America for dominance in the Middle East. This is absolutely not so. The Russian position is not aimed at pushing America out of the region, it is to minimize the risks related to the USA’s conduct,” Lukyanov said.

Speaking of Russia’s decision to send the missile cruiser Moskva of the Black Sea Fleet to the eastern Mediterranean, the SVOP chairman described this step as a demonstration of the fact that Moscow was not indifferent to the events happening in the Middle East. “In my view, this is purely a demonstration of the fact that Russia is not indifferent to what goes on there. It will follow (developments) closely and draw conclusions on whether there is a threat to its security. As (Foreign Minister) Sergey Lavrov said, and I believe this too, this position is unambiguous: Russia is not going to intervene in any hostilities or military confrontations around Syria on anyone’s side,” Lukyanov said.