Russia-West ties shakier than Cold War era: Analyst

Press TV has interviewed Fred Weir, a journalist and political commentator based in Moscow, to ask for his views on strained relations between Moscow and the West, which hit a new low after President Vladimir Putin reacted strongly to the seizure of Russian assets in Belgium and France.

The following is a rough transcription.

Press TV: This is the second Russian official in as many weeks stating that Moscow will defend its interests if push comes to shove. Talk to us about the recent comments made by Vladimir Putin.

Weir: Okay, this is a different case. You know that there is a military escalation going on, a lot of confrontational rhetoric and even actions. This is a different thing; this is an old case that went through the courts in Europe over the Yukos Oil Company, and in order to enforce that judgment, that $50-billion-dollar judgment you mentioned. It is up to the courts in each country to take the action and that would be by arresting official Russian property.

That is what reportedly has happened in Belgium, France, and perhaps Austria as well. In the West, they regard this as a purely judicial matter; it is the courts and not the governments who are doing this. They are enforcing the judgment of a higher court. In Russia of course they view it as a political action, part of the overall crisis and another way of getting at Russia; punishing and trying to humiliate it.

So I think we can probably expect to see some tit for tat type of response from Russia; maybe arresting the property of some Belgian or French company that has assets in Russia, something like that. But it is part of the overall picture as you said; I mean the picture is dismal and confrontation is spiraling out of control and this is just another element adding to the aggravation of it all.

Press TV: So there are instances like this, despite it being a different case altogether, that could already increase the existing tensions between Russia and the West and the NATO allies.

Weir: Undoubtedly. We are seeing that happen across the board and even completely non-political forums, artistic shows and such, are getting poisoned by this atmosphere… things are getting canceled, picketed and so we are seeing this happen, just an overall deterioration of relations that we haven’t seen. I mean even the Cold War seemed a lot more stable that this current situation. So yes, this is another one and it is not a small element either. 

MTM/MKA

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