Washington still haunted by ‘ghost of Soviet Union’: Antonov

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The United States is motivated by a "Cold War" mentality regarding Russian affairs and finds it hard to accept the shift in the international arena, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said in an interview for Newsweek. 

"Washington seems to need to constantly assert itself through competition with Russia. It looks as if the 'ghost' of the Soviet Union is still haunting the corridors of power in the American capital, and the ‘Сold War’ has not ended at all," Antonov said.

The Russian Ambassador believes that the United States is driven by a feeling of "exceptionalism", which is why it aimed to create an area of instability at Russia's borders. Many American politicians additionally still act in accordance with the "Cold War" mentality and find it hard to accept the "restoration of Russia's international prestige" under President Vladimir Putin, Antonov said.

"At the same time, one can always shift the blame for its own problems and miscalculations onto the Russian Federation and use Russia to justify its unprecedented military spending. In addition, under the pretext of the developments in Ukraine, the administration is ruining mutually beneficial ties between Russia and Europe, making the latter fully dependent on Washington," the Russian ambassador told Newsweek.

He emphasized that building a multipolar world takes time, and as part of that complex journey, the Russia-US standoff must be mutually respectful.

Antonov said earlier that, instead of escalating the current state of affairs with baseless accusations, Washington should examine how in line the direction of its relations with Moscow is with its international obligations.

Last month, the US Charge d'Affaires in Moscow Elizabeth Rood confirmed that US-Russia communication channels remain open at the working level but it remains crucial that the Embassy in Moscow maintains its functions. 

"Our bilateral relations are at a rather low level and our embassies are considerably reduced from their normal size. But that said, we do have channels of talking with Russia at the working level, about all the many things that are necessary to keep our embassies functioning," Rood stated in an interview for RIA Novosti.

She stressed the importance to "President Biden that our embassy remain open and functioning," as she expressed hope that both countries would not expel diplomats any further "because it's in the interest of both of our countries to have fully staffed, fully functioning embassies."

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