Russia's Medvedev: We are in a 'new Cold War'

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said his country is in a new cold war with the US and its allies, while NATO's chief said Russia is using its nuclear arsenal to intimidate Europe.

The clash, with echoes of superpower rhetoric during the 20th century, played out at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday even as Russia, Europe and the US say they're seeking to end Syria's civil war, resolve the armed standoff in eastern Ukraine and make progress toward lifting European economic sanctions against Russia.

"The political line of NATO toward Russia remains unfriendly and closed," Medvedev said in a speech to the conference. "It can be said more sharply: We have slid into a time of a new cold war."
 

While Medvedev renewed Russian accusations of encirclement by western powers, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, challenged President Vladimir Putin to stop threatening nations around Russia's borders with warnings about his nuclear-weapons capability.

"Russia's rhetoric, posture and exercises of its nuclear forces are aimed at intimidating its neighbours, undermining trust and stability in Europe," Stoltenberg told the conference earlier. "We strive for a more constructive and more cooperative relationship with Russia."

NATO on Wednesday approved new reinforcements for eastern Europe, including stepped-up troop rotations on its eastern flanks and more naval patrols in the Baltic Sea. In response, the Kremlin dismissed the alliance's argument that the move was merely defensive. "It's important to avoid escalation between our forces," said Stoltenberg, who met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The NATO chief cited the risk of "accidents," such as Turkey's downing of a Russian jet it said crossed into its airspace in November. "We are in a new reality with Russia," said Stoltenberg. "It's essential we engage with Russia."

US Secretary of State John Kerry sought to maintain pressure on Putin over Russia's annexation of Crimea and encroachment on eastern Ukraine, which led to sanctions and a peace plan brokered by Germany and France last year in Minsk, Belarus.

"Russia has a simple choice: fully implement Minsk or continue to experience economically damaging sanctions," Kerry said in Munich. Medvedev said relations are still better than during the depths of the Cold War before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism.