Lionel Beehner Sees a Fire Lit Under Cold-War Tensions
The US-Russian relationship during President Putin’s tenure has seesawed between mutual cooperation and confrontation, says Lionel Beehner of the US Council on Foreign Relations. The three main reasons for these recent tensions are the American intentions to establish an antimissile shield, expand NATO, and encourage the installation of pro-Western governments across Eastern Europe. Putin has accused Washington of creating a unipolar world, reviving the nuclear arms race, and of demonstrating an “almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations.” Beehner analyzes how these frictions affect the balance of Russia’s other existing relations, particularly those with Iran, China, and the SCO.
