US, Russia headed for new Cold War over Syria: GOPer
US Republican presidential contender Marco Rubio says Russian President Vladimir Putin's "power play" has put Moscow and Washington on the course to a second Cold War.
“We are barreling toward a second Cold War,” Rubio warned during a national security forum in Iowa, on Friday.
The Florida Senator dubbed Putin’s Syria policy a “power play” in the region and vowed to take action against the Kremlin, should he succeed President Barack Obama into the White House in 2016.
“As soon as I take office, I will move quickly to increase pressure on Moscow,” he said.
“Under my administration, there will be no pleadings for meetings with Vladimir Putin. He will be treated for what he is – a gangster and a thug,” he added.
On Wednesday, Russia launched coordinated airstrikes on Daesh (ISIL) positions in Syria. On Saturday the Russian military announced that they have carried out some 60 air raids against the Takfiri group in a period of 72 hours.
More sanctions against Moscow
The Florida senator threatened more sanctions against Russian leaders, saying, “When I’m president, America will speak clearly about Vladimir Putin. He and his cronies will be the target of US financial pressure.”
Rubio added that he would propose visa bans and asset freezes and other new sanctions on Russian officials and entities, including against the country’s senior leaders.
He also pledged to work with America’s European allies to ban Russia from SWIFT, a banking system that allows countries to exchange money internationally.
The United States imposed its first sanctions regime against Russia in the wake of Crimea’s annexation last year.
The European Union quickly followed suit and announced its own economic sanctions against Moscow and later extended them until the end of January 2016.
Putin responds
The GOP candidate’s comments fall in line with his recent fiery tirades against Russia and Putin in particular, who was compelled to respond to Rubio’s remarks on live TV.
Last week, in response to a similar “gangster” moniker that Rubio had branded Putin with, the Russian president hit back in a CBS interview.
“How can I be a gangster if I worked for the KGB? Come on. That does not correspond to reality,” he said.
That, however, set off another verbal offensive by the US politician who went around mocking Putin’s line.
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