US won’t let Russia ‘drag us back to the past’ — Carter

BERLIN: The United States and its allies won’t let Russia ‘drag us back to the past,’ US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in an address in Berlin yesterday, as he accused Moscow of trying to re-create a Soviet-era sphere of influence.

Russia’s intervention in Ukraine has put Nato allies in easter n Europe on edge and triggered a series of military moves by the Nato alliance, including an acceleration of exercises and the creation of a Nato rapid response force.

Carter,whowillviewcomponents of that Nato force later on Monday, said the alliance would keep the door open to an improved relationship with Russia but said flatly: “It’s up to the Kremlin to decide.”

“We do not seek a cold, let alone a hot war with Russia. We do not seek to make Russia an enemy. But make no mistake: we will defend our allies, the rulesbased international order, and the positive future it affords us all,” Carter said.

Carter said on Sunday the United States and Nato were preparing militarily for the prospect that their rift with Russia could even outlast President Vladimir Putin.

During his trip this week, Carter will climb aboard a US. warship in Estonia fresh from Baltic Sea drills. In Brussels, he will meet Nato defense chiefs, and could offer more details on plans to pre-position heavy military equipment, officials say. — Reuters