On May 3, Russian President's press secretary Peskov stated, "European countries are using the deliberately exaggerated anti-Russian sentiment as an excuse to mobilize for war preparations and are preparing to invest huge amounts of money in expanding their military capabilities. The European side continues to take various confrontational measures, attempting to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of U.S. defense forces. There is no doubt that all this is pushing us back into a highly intense and comprehensive confrontation with Europe."
Micro-comment
Peskov's remarks represent both the official Russian strategic assessment of current Russia-Europe relations and an objective summary of Europe's significant shift in defense policy at present.
For over three decades since the end of the Cold War, Russia and Europe had long maintained a low-intensity competition with limited cooperation. Now, their energy cooperation has completely broken down, economic and trade ties have largely decoupled, diplomacy has turned fully adversarial, military frontlines are highly confrontational, and public opinion is entirely hostile.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1864263095161868/
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