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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Putin: Cold War isn’t returning

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with international news agencies on Saturday. (Associated Press)
Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that he does not believe there will be a new Cold War with the United States, and Russia does not want it.

But he warned that Russia’s interests must be taken seriously and accused the West of having ignored Russia’s concerns over Ukraine. He also criticized Britain’s Prince Charles’ reported recent remarks comparing him to Hitler as “unacceptable” and “not royal behavior.”

“I wouldn’t like to think that this is the start of a new Cold War – we’re not interested in that and I don’t believe it will happen,” Putin said when asked about the future of U.S.-Russian relations, which are at their lowest point in the two decades since the end of the Soviet Union because of the crisis in Ukraine.

He said there have been many points of contact and cooperation between the U.S. and Russia in recent years, but “these instruments are only good when they are really used, if they are really platforms for bilateral work. These platforms are not there for us to drink tea or coffee. These are platforms for searching for compromise.”

Speaking to representatives of major news agencies, including the Associated Press, Putin accused Western politicians of interfering in Ukraine without taking into account how important Russia sees its neighbor to its own security and economic interests.

As an indication of how badly Putin’s relations with the West have fallen in some quarters, he was asked about Prince Charles’ reported comment in a private conversation during a visit to Canada comparing the annexation of Crimea to Adolf Hitler’s 1939 invasion of Poland.

If Charles said that, the comparison was “unacceptable” and “not royal behavior,” Putin replied.

“I think he understands that himself,” Putin said.