MOSCOW, November 11 (Sputnik) – Economic sanctions, imposed by the West against Russia, could succeed in having an impact on its stance on the Ukrainian issue, reducing the potential of a new Cold War erupting in the world, British Prime Minister David Cameron has said.
"I don't believe there is a military solution. But that is not the only tool available to us," Cameron was quoted as saying by the BBC Monday, at the Lord Mayor's banquet in London.
Referring to the recent warning of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev that the UK was on the brink of a new Cold War, the British prime minister said he did not believe that a new Cold War was "inevitable" and argued that economic sanctions could be effective in the current situation.
"There will be those who say that this isn't our business and that we shouldn't interfere. And some will argue that we can't — that we have no influence to bear. But I believe both views are wrong," Cameron stressed, saying that "economic sanctions on Russia are having an impact".
The prime minister warned that "if Russia continues on its current path, then we will keep upping the pressure and Russia's relationship with the rest of the world will be radically different in the future".
Relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated amid the Ukrainian crisis. Over the past few months, the United States, the European Union and their allies have introduced several rounds of economic sanctions against Russia over its alleged involvement in the situation in Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied these allegations, which have not been supported with any concrete evidence, stressing that sanctions are counterproductive and threaten economic stability in the world.
