Is the West to blame for starting a new Cold War?

According to Andranik Migranyan, a member of the Presidential Council of the Russian Federation and former advisor to one-time Russian President Boris Yeltsin, the West began a new Cold War as the old one was ending. “The West was trying to grab everything which was left after the collapse of the Soviet system,” he says.  Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker denies that, claiming that “NATO has consistently been trying to work with Russia,” and blames Russia for rejecting rapprochement with the West.  “Russia has shown, ‘no, we’re going to invade our neighbors. We’re going to annex territory. We’re going to crackdown on democracy at home. We’re going to offer to sell arms to the Iranians,’” according to Volker.

Russia-Ukraine conflict

Since fighting between pro-Russian factions and Ukrainian forces began in eastern Ukraine in early 2014, more than 6,500 people have been killed, 15,000 injured and 1.2 million displaced, according to the U.N. In March, Lt. General Ben Hodges, the U.S. Army Commander in Europe, estimated some 12,000 Russian soldiers were fighting in eastern Ukraine along with the separatist factions. While Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government has repeatedly denied these claims, Western leaders and many observers say the Russian troops are there. The U.S., E.U. and Canadian governments continue and in some cases, are ramping up, sanctions against Russia in an effort to end Russian intervention in Ukraine.

In the face of Russian denials of involvement in Ukraine, Ambassador Volker says “Before Russia intervened in Ukraine… there was no civil war.” Migranyan insisted that any Russians fighting in Ukraine are volunteers, not state forces and that “one must be insane to make” Lt. General Hodges' claim. “If several thousand Russian soldiers were there in Ukraine, long ago, the war was finished,” Migranyan says, “(Ukraine President) Poroshenko and these guys [would] be here asking for political asylum.” Ukrainian parliament member Sergeii Leshchenko scoffs at the assertion adding pro-Russian forces haven’t made it to his country’s capitol, Kiev, because “more than 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers sacrificed their lives to protect Ukraine.”

Arming Ukraine

Support for arming Ukraine is growing among the U.S. public. According to a Pew poll from earlier this year, 41 percent of Americans favor the U.S. sending arms and military supplies to the Ukrainian government. That number is up 11 points from April 2014.

U.S. senators including Senator John McCain, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair General Martin Dempsey and Ambassador Volker are among those who have called for the West and the NATO alliance to send lethal weapons to the Ukrainian government. “When NATO was on the sidelines and was letting the EU take the lead in Bosnia, we saw hundreds of thousands of people killed and the civil war spread,” Volker says, adding “Ukraine has the right to defend itself. It’s under attack from outside.” MP Leshchenko says that although he doesn’t want to go to war with Russia, “only a supply of weapons [to Ukraine] can stop Putin.” However, Migranyan warns arming Ukrainian soldiers would be “absolutely counterproductive” and would “escalate the conflict.” He claims “Russia is ready to pay every price to defeat America in this proxy war.”

Tensions between the U.S. and Russia are reflected in recent public opinion polls. According to Gallup, 34 percent of Americans view Russia favorably, the lowest in 15 years. A Pew poll also conducted earlier this year found 23 percent of Russians have a favorable view of the U.S., down 28 points from just a year before.

Tune in for the debate

Sunday on Third Rail, we ask: Is the West to blame for starting a new Cold War? Presidential Council of the Russian Federation member Andranik Migranyan, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker, and Ukrainian parliament member Sergeii Leshchenko debate. Tune in at 6PM ET/3PM PT on Al Jazeera America.

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