Russian DM: US Needs to Recognize International Order Isn’t Just Pentagon’s Wishes

Says Disagreements Over Syria Would Be Easier to Work Out Without US Intransigence

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shogu today mocked his US counterpart Ash Carter for a bellicose speech in which he’d claimed Russia was plotting to erode “the international order” and was a threat to global security.

Shogu insisted that Carter was mistaking the international order with a “American order,” and that the international order was up to the entire international community to decide, and not just for the Pentagon to dictate to everyone else.

He went on to say that ongoing disagreements over Syria would be a lot easier to solve if the Pentagon recognized this distinction, and that disagreements in a lot of other venues worldwide would be settled more easily as well.

The Pentagon has been expressing opposition to the negotiated plans for joint US-Russia operations in Syria, despite them being part of the ceasefire already in place, saying that they want Russia to make dramatic changes to their behavior in the next few days first.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.