US military leadership still believes in patterns of the long-gone Cold War which affect the decisions of the White House and America’s strategy towards the country, Il Giornale columnist Gian Micalessin told Sputnik.
Washington understands that Russian President Vladimir Putin is the only politician in the world who has his own strategic vision with regard to the United States, Micalessin noted.
"Putin is the only real opponent. It is difficult to explain why. One could say that it's about the combination of two factors: old patterns and fear of Putin as a more experienced chess player in international politics," the Italian analyst said.
A "counterproductive strategy of the EU in Ukraine" is conducted at the expense of European countries interested in economic relations with Russia, he said.
The Italian expert said that Europe has been following the US' stance "which does not reflect any of the European priorities."
"Europe is completely under the US control," the Italian columnist concluded.
