Echoes of the Cold War as US and Russia talk of deploying arms

The leak from the New York Times a week ago on the possible deployment of heavy weaponry by the US in Eastern Europe and the Baltic –with the Ukraine conflict and Russian shows of military force as a backdrop– has again raised the spectre of a new Cold War in Europe.

There was no official response from the Kremlin to the leak but certain Russian military representatives did suggest that if the US goes ahead with the deployment, Russia would feel obliged to reinforce its western strategic front. To add more fuel to the fire, Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said on Tuesday during a military event that “in the coming years the nuclear arsenal will be complete with some 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of overcoming any anti-missile defence system.”

According to the terms of the bilateral SALT treaty with the US, Russia does not have the right to add to its nuclear arsenal, which means that Putin was referring to new missiles that will replace existing models.