The mentality of the Cold War period is alive both in Washington and Moscow.

Senior fellow for Europe and Eurasia at the American Foreign Policy Council, Wayne Merry, told the aforementioned to Armenian News – NEWS.am.

In his words, there certainly are preconditions for the improvement of relations between Washington and Moscow.  “As the two national leaders are prepared for improvement, though both face serious difficulties in bringing along their governments,” Merry noted.

Asked whether the increasing US-Russia confrontation can be called a "new cold war," the analyst responded:  “No, as the conditions of the Cold War no longer exist, but the mentality of that period unfortunately is alive and well in both capitals.”

Referring to the question as to whether the two superpowers will be able to bring their positions closer on Ukraine, Wayne Merry assessed this possibility positively:  “Yes, not in the form of a “grand bargain” but they may be able to remove Ukraine as a proxy battlefield.”