New York Times:
They call it “Russia’s military Disneyland,” and the underlying idea that Russia will soon field a high-tech, modernized army was indeed part fantasy. But the bristling array of armaments underlined how military competition had overtaken diplomacy in East-West relations.
In a sprawling park 30 miles outside Moscow, PresidentVladimir V. Putin welcomed the country’s first high-tech military exposition on Tuesday, announcing in his opening remarks that Russia would add 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles to its nuclear stockpile this year.
Just days earlier, it was disclosed that the United States is considering stationing enough heavy weaponry in the neighboring Baltic States and Poland to rapidly deploy some 5,000 troops to face any Russian threat.
Analysts see the increasing emphasis on military matters as a sign that the changes wrought by the Ukraine crisis are cementing a more confrontational relationship between Russia and the West, something of a new arms race.
Yet as races go, it is a slow-motion contest, with little appetite to invest in the kind of Cold War arsenals that had assured mutual destruction.
For one thing, Russia, given its economic problems, probably cannot afford even the weapons that Mr. Putin has pledged to deliver by 2020. Six months ago, he said the country would add 50 ballistic missiles to its nuclear arsenal this year, and at least one senior Russian military official has indicated publicly that the Kremlin’s appetite exceeds its wallet.
For another, issues of common concern, like the threat from Islamic extremism and Iran’s nuclear program, have been pushing the two sides to work together. But the language of arms is slowly but surely overshadowing the language of diplomacy and mutual respect…
