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The former president of the United States, Barack Obama, PHOTO: Reuters
Barack Obama writes in his new book that Russia is no longer a superpower due to insufficient numbers of allies and military bases abroad, TASS reported.
In his book A Promised Land, the 44th President of the United States noted today that despite its great nuclear potential, which is second only to that of the United States, Russia lacks the “broad network of alliances and bases” allows the United States to exercise its military might around the world, BTA reported.
Furthermore, the Russian economy continues to lag behind the economies of Italy, Canada and Brazil, and in practice “depends entirely on exports of oil, gas, minerals and weapons,” Obama said. He cites data from studies showing high levels of corruption, social inequality and low life expectancy among men in Russia. According to the former US president, Russia is blocking US proposals to the UN Security Council and “intensifying its efforts to prevent the countries of the former Soviet bloc from leaving its sphere of influence.”
In his memoirs, Obama said that he regarded then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009 as “the epitome of the new Russia: young, fitted and dressed in fashionable European-style suits.” Additionally, Medvedev apparently understood English, although he communicated with the help of an interpreter, Obama wrote.
He cites Medvedev’s “unexpected and unprecedented” proposal to allow the Pentagon to use Russian airspace to transport troops and equipment to Afghanistan as an alternative to costly and unreliable routes through Pakistan. Obama says he was also surprised by Medvedev’s recognition that Iran’s nuclear and missile programs are growing faster than expected.
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