"These manipulations are boring."

Russian President Vladimir Putin was skeptical about the loyalty of the United States to this word, both verbal and written. I will quote his speech at an expanded meeting of the Collegium of the Ministry of Defense: “We need long-term, legally binding guarantees. Well, you and I know them well: and this cannot be trusted, no legal guarantees, because the United States easily withdraws from all international treaties that, for one reason or another, become uninteresting to them - easily, explaining something or without explaining in any way how it was with the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (Treaty -

. ) on the open skies - no, that's all. But at least this, at least something, at least legally binding agreements should be, and not oral assurances. We know the price of such verbal assurances, words and promises ”.

The question arises: if the US legal guarantees cannot be trusted, do we, in principle, need to agree on something with such an unreliable partner?

I remember that the Soviet Union also concluded a non-aggression pact with Hitler, but this did not help to avoid a surprise attack.

Perhaps, if there was no treaty, the USSR would have been on the alert and the defeats of the first months of the war would have been avoided?

However, let historians understand the past, we live here and now.

And despite the fact that no US guarantees can be trusted, an agreement is still needed.

This is how human civilization works.

The current system of international relations is based on one fundamental mistake: the United States and NATO see themselves as victors in the Cold War.

And until they understand the fundamental inaccuracy of this delusion, it will be very difficult to negotiate with them.

In fact, the collapse of the USSR in 1991, in general terms, repeated the situation with the 1917 revolution and Russia's withdrawal from the First World War.

No one can say that Russia lost the First World War, that Germany and the Central Powers defeated us.

No, we didn’t lose.

But they could not take advantage of the fruits of the victory, because the Bolsheviks withdrew from the battles and concluded a separate peace.

It's the same with the Cold War.

We didn't lose it.

Due to internal problems, we simply stopped participating in it.

And the United States declared itself the winners outright.

Although there is not the slightest doubt that if the United States tried to defeat us by military means, this would lead to unacceptable damage to them.

They, in fact, always understood this, so they did not even try to put pressure on Russia with military methods in the 90s.

But - and Vladimir Putin also said this - they actively supported the separatists and even sent CIA officers to the Russian government.

Undeserved success, of course, turned the heads of the Americans - just as some former Soviet republics, which gained independence without any struggle for it, are behaving absolutely inadequately.

It is not surprising that the behavior of Ukrainian and American politicians in recent years is quite easy to confuse - complete irresponsibility, abandonment of age-old diplomatic traditions and banal politeness, as well as a total inability to calculate risks and consequences.

Now there is not the slightest doubt that the dismemberment of Yugoslavia was a calculated strategic US plan to isolate Russia from its likely allies in Europe. Now Serbia is surrounded by NATO countries and, even with a great desire, will not be able to provide territory for a Russian base in response to American military installations approaching our territory. It was in order to prevent military cooperation between Russia and Venezuela that the United States tried to organize a coup in this South American country.

The United States is calculating its actions for decades ahead, hoping to do what Sigismund III in 1613, Charles XII in 1709, Napoleon in 1812 and Hitler in 1941 could not do - to erase Russia from the world map forever.

They understand that it is impossible to defeat Russia by military means, therefore they use all other methods of pressure - economic, cultural, ideological, mental.

In fact, the US war against Russia by non-military methods has not stopped for a minute since 1946.

And now, when the threat of a direct military confrontation is comparable to the situation in the days of the Cuban missile crisis, the only alternative to a nuclear apocalypse is to negotiate.

This is what our president is talking about.

Russians don't want war.

But it is impossible to continue to pretend that nothing special is happening.

“We are tired of these manipulations,” said Vladimir Putin.

The time has come to dot the “i's” and if we do not end the cold war, then at least remind our presumptuous “partners” that their claims to us are not based on anything.

I am sure that we will find the necessary and correct arguments.

The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.