World has slipped into 'new Cold War': Russian PM

Medvedev criticised the expansion of NATO and EU influence deep into formerly Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe since the end of the Cold War.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday that strains between Russia and the West have plunged the world into a \"new Cold War\".

With tensions high over the Ukraine conflict and Russia's backing of the Syrian regime, Medvedev said: \"All that's left is an unfriendly policy of NATO against Russia\".

\"We can say it even more clearly: We have slid into a new period of Cold War,\" he said, speaking at the Munich Security Conference.

\"Almost every day we are accused of making new horrible threats either against NATO as a whole, against Europe or against the US or other countries.\"

Medvedev criticised the expansion of NATO and EU influence deep into formerly Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe since the end of the Cold War.

\"European politicians thought that creating a so-called belt of friends at Europe's side, on the outskirts of the EU, could be a guarantee of security, and what's the result \" he said.

\"Not a belt of friends but a belt of exclusion.\"

He added that \"creating trust is hard but we have to start. Our positions differ, but they do not differ as much as 40 years ago when a wall was standing in Europe.\"