Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Business

U.S. Wants to Avoid Second Cold War - or Hot War - With Russia

  • Carter warns of Russian aggression, Chinese ambitions
  • Defense chief cites deep concerns over South China Sea
U.S. secretary of defense Ashton Carter.

U.S. secretary of defense Ashton Carter.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
By
Nicole Gaouette

The U.S. is taking steps to counter Russian “aggression” and provocations in Europe and the Middle East, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said in a speech that also focused on China’s “more ambitious” objectives.

Carter, speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, on Saturday, listed ways that Russia has been acting as a “spoiler” on the world stage, including violating the sovereignty of Ukraine, trying to intimidate Baltic countries and sending troops to Syria.