MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. The West’s view of Russia is still predominantly clinging to Winston Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a TASS question on Wednesday.
According to him, the speech, which will mark its 75th anniversary on March 5, was an important milestone and "should never be forgotten."
The press secretary noted that Churchill’s landmark speech, along with the Long Telegram penned by US diplomat George F. Kennan in 1946, had shaped many Western countries’ attitudes towards the Soviet Union and Russia. "Much of this outlook has remained unchanged and, in many respects, unfortunately, it has even been fleshed out with confrontational overtones. Therefore, we certainly need to keep this in mind," Peskov pointed out.
He also shed light on the fact that the mechanisms of confrontation, such as NATO, continued to exist. "They function, and they’re in operation. They were created for serious hostilities and not for peaceful cooperation. These institutions continue to work against us, forcing us to stay alert and take all the necessary measures to protect our country," Peskov pointed out.
On March 5, 1946, then British Prime Minister and parliamentary opposition leader Winston Churchill delivered a speech at Westminster College in the Midwestern American town of Fulton, Missouri, in which he put forward the idea of forging an Anglo-American alliance to counter the international Communist movement led by Soviet Russia. The speech is believed to have marked the start of the Cold War.