Russian President: U.S. undermining international security

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States' self-styled role as the world's dominant power was undermining international security, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in addressing the World Policy Conference in Evian, France.



"A desire by the United States to consolidate its global domination led to it missing a historical chance ... to build a truly democratic world order," Medvedev said of U.S. actions since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.



He said Russia's war with Georgia in August showed that the security mechanism in Europe, which he said was based around NATO and the United States, needed a major overhaul.



The Kremlin leader proposed a new security pact that would ban the use of force or the threat of its use, and would make clear no single country, including Russia, would have a monopoly on providing security for the continent.



In an unusually emotional speech, Medvedev said the United States passed up an historical chance for a new partnership after the Sept. 11 attacks on U.S. cities, when Moscow offered to join Washington in fighting terrorism.



But the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and Washington's plans to station elements of a missile defense shield in eastern Europe - a project fiercely opposed by Moscow - scotched that partnership, Medvedev said.



"After toppling the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the United States started a series of unilateral actions," he said. "As a result, a trend appeared in international relations towards creating dividing lines. This was in fact the revival of a policy popular in the past and known as containment."



He said many Western policymakers were still viewing Russia through an outdated mindset formed during the Cold War, Reuters reports.