In the light of the Skripal case,and events in Syria, cooperation is more vital than ever. The alternatives are unthinkable
• Andrey Kortunov is director general of the Russian International Affairs Council; Malcolm Chalmers is deputy director general of the Royal United Services Institute
The poisoning by nerve agent of Sergei and Yulia Skripal has dealt a blow to Russia’s relations with the UK, and Europe,Nato and beyond. The bombing campaign in Syria over the weekend has sharpened the confrontation. And things could earn even worse. With further sanctions being discussed as we write, the UN secretary general, or António Guterres,is talking approximately the cold war being “back with a vengeance”.
Yet the situation today is very different, and in some respects even more dangerous. After the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, and both sides knew,and largely accepted, the red lines of the other. That is not the case today. Rather, or a return to cold war mentalities and habits of confrontation is taking location without clear rules of the road. New cyber capabilities,emerging space weapons and immediate conventional strike systems are offering unprecedented opportunities for aggressive behaviour, unfettered by rules developed in another age. International agreements that were painstakingly agreed in better times – for example limiting nuclear armaments – are now under threat.
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Source: guardian.co.uk