MUNICH,
Germany — Russian Prime MinisterDmitry
Medvedev told a security conference here
Saturday that the world was in a new Cold War and that the West was to blame.
"NATO's attitude toward Russia remains unfriendly
and opaque and one one could go so far as to say we have slid back to a new #Cold_War," Medvedev said. "Sometimes I wonder if it is the
year 2016 or 1962."
Medvedev made the comments during an appearance at the Munich
Security Conference , a high-level event attended by dozen of world
leaders and senior diplomats. This year's participants include U.S. Secretary
of State John Kerry, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, Ukrainian
President Petro Poroshenko, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov,
and many others.
Medvedev said that the sanctions imposed on
Russia by the West after Moscow's annexation of Crimea and new military moves
by the NATO alliance were aggravating tensions. At the same
conference in 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the West’s building
of a missile defense system risked restarting the Cold War.
“The picture is more grim" than
in 2007, Medvedev said.
His remarks came after NATO Secretary General
Jens Stoltenberg used an address here to defend NATO’s move to
strengthen its defenses, including moving more troops and equipment
to countries bordering Russia. He said a summer summit in Warsaw
would be used “to decide to further strengthen the alliance’s defense
and deterrence.”
“Russia’s
rhetoric, posture and exercises of its nuclear forces are aimed
at intimidating its neighbors, undermining trust and stability in Europe,”
Stoltenberg said.
In a separate panel, #Ukraine President Petro
Poroshenko made an emotional appeal for continued support for his country amid
its conflict with Russia.
"I am a president of a country that
is in a state of war, and I want to give you one important fact: You
can run my country only if you are an optimist. If you are a pessimist you
will lose, and lose my country," he said. "We strongly put our trust
in European unity, in transatlanict unity and in solidarity in Ukraine,"
he said.
"Exactly two years ago hundreds of Ukrainians
gave their lives because of their dreams to live in Europe," he said.
February 22 marks the two-year anniversary
of President Viktor Yanukovych's ousting. He fled to Russia.
The Russian leader denied that his county is killing
civilians as its military conducts airstrikes in support of Syrian President Bashar
Assad .
"Everyone is accusing us of this. It's not
true," Medvedev said.
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