Welcome to the Cato Daily Podcast for Tuesday, February 20th. I'm Anastasia Global, your host.

Tensions between the United States and Russia have been very high lately, as Russia threatens to pull out of the 1987 nuclear arms control treaty if the United States

proceeds with plans to install missiles in Eastern Europe.

Recently Russian President Vladimir Putin shared some very harsh criticism about the United

States while speaking at the Munich

conference on security policy.

While the U.S. response has been tempered, there can be no doubt that tensions are mounting.

Here to discuss the situation in Russia and the meaning of Putin's remarks in

Munich is editor-in-chief of United Press International Martin Walker, who spoke at a recent

Cato Conference on Foreign Policy. You've been the Moscow Bureau Chief for the Guardian newspaper, so you have some expertise in this area.

Tell me, does the ever more frequent speculation about a new Cold War brewing carry any merit?

No, not really. The Cold War brewing carry any merit? No, not really.

The Cold War wasn't simply a relationship of two superpowers,

two nuclear superpowers challenging each other.

It was also about two quite distinct ideologies,

about the way to organize life for the human

race.

And there is no ecological battle anymore.

Putin is not really trying to put forward an alternative political system to that of the United States.

Putin is, he's an authoritarian, but he still mouths the rhetoric of democracy, he still talks

about rule of law and so on, and so I think we already are seeing a great deal more overt

Geopolitical rivalry between the US and Russia. We're seeing Russia throwing its weight around with its power and with its energy strength,

...