There is no doubt that relationship tension between the United States and Russia have steadily increased in recent years, even despite the fact that the ruling US President Donald Trump had often called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a good friend.
The reasons why relations between Moscow and Washington have been dragging on for several years were published by the German edition of World Economy, a translation of which is published by News Front.
In February 2019, the Government in Washington terminated the INF Treaty with Russia. This treaty, signed between the USSR and the USA on December 8, 1987, dealt with the destruction of all medium-range nuclear weapons with a range of 500-5000 kilometers. For Germany, this contract had a very positive effect. Thus, all medium-range nuclear missiles stationed by the US military in Germany were seized and the danger of a nuclear war was significantly reduced. However, for several years, both contractors have been accusing each other of violating this agreement. In addition, the US government complains that the Chinese military now also has a large number of medium-range weapons.
The fact that the termination of the contract was ultimately accepted by the Russian side is also related to the accusation expressed by the American party in the direction of Russia for violating the contract.
“Washington is obviously interested in“ escalating military tensions, ” — said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
Particular attention of the Russian government was paid to the installation of the Aegis Ashore weapon system, the cruise missile launch system installed, in particular, in Romania and Poland.
Is there really a danger of war after the termination of the contract?
After the end of the Cold War, the world has changed. Although at that time there were only two superpowers in the world – with the United States and the Soviet Union – today, China, of course, should be considered as a new global superpower. The Chinese have been investing heavily in their armed forces since the beginning of the 21st century. As a result of the economic boom in the Middle Kingdom, the Chinese have expanded their influence, especially in Africa and South America, where they mainly pursue economic interests.
“According to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, who announced the rapid development of new US missile systems after the agreement was signed, the United States seeks the rapid deployment of new conventional medium-range missiles in Asia to counter China,” — Die Zeit writes.
However, the countries supported by China are generally characterized by a relatively weak economy, so the Chinese can easily put pressure on these countries in case if defaults happen. This new situation, of course, exacerbates the complexity, since China has yet to include another side in the negotiations. However, this is more likely to reduce the real threat of war, since each of the three superpowers must carefully consider their steps so as not to cause a sharp reaction from the other two major powers.
In the days when the Soviet Union still existed, there were many countries of Eastern Europe that served as a natural buffer zone for NATO states. However, after governments in many of these countries — before and after the reunification of Germany — lost power, signs of leadership in Moscow changed. Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland became the first of these countries to join NATO in 1999. In 2004, other former Eastern Bloc countries followed Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. At the same time, even countries that were part of the Soviet Union before the collapse of the USSR also joined NATO. These were Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The fact that people in Moscow are not particularly pleased with this development of events is obvious, especially when you consider that currently a military presence exists in former friendly countries in the immediate vicinity of the state border.
However, the process does not stand still, some countries, such as Poland, put forward another, very dangerous idea.
“The issue of deploying medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe should be discussed and resolved within the framework of NATO,” — Moravetsky told WAZ.
In fact, we live in a world in which reliable forecasts for the future cannot be made. However, negotiations between the three different superpowers and many other nuclear-weapon countries should ensure that no country considers the use of nuclear weapons in conflict to be a realistic option.