New Cold War Is On, Says Medvedev

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said strains between Russia and the West have pushed the world “into a new cold war,” according to the BBC.

“On an almost daily basis, we are being described the worst threat – be it to Nato as a whole, or to Europe, America or other countries,” Mr Medvedev said.

He cited Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg’s speeches and films depicting Russia starting a nuclear war.

“Sometimes I wonder if this is 2016 or 1962,” Mr Medvedev said.

The Cold War was a period of ideological confrontation between the former Soviet Union and Western countries. It began after World War Two and ended with the collapse of the Soviet-led communist camp in the 1989.

The 45 years of tension were marked by espionage and proxy wars involving client states – all undertaken with the knowledge or fear of the nuclear catastrophe that actual war would bring.