Differences between the countries of the West and Russia is still preserved since the Cold War. This TASS told the former American ambassador to Moscow Thomas Pickering.
According to him, some heritage, expressed in uncertainty and distrust, which was permeated by the era, still exists. The diplomat noted that then the systemic and ideological differences were between the USSR and the West, especially the United States. “It has never completely and did not disappear due to the changes that happened,” the ex-ambassador was summarized.
Previously, Pickering said that the collapse of the Soviet Union became a surprise to everyone in Washington. According to the diplomat, in the United States, they followed changes in the Soviet Union, while attention was focused on the military power of the USSR. “Although it seemed that everything was rolling on the inclined, they could not particularly accurately appreciate, did not have a clear idea of how quickly it would happen or when the changes would come,” he said.