Russia-West 'alienation' Is Worrying: German President

Frankfurt am Main, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Apr, 2018 ) :German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday voiced alarm over the growing "alienation" between Russia and the West, stressing the need for dialogue as post-Cold War tensions peak.

Speaking to the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, Steinmeier said last month's poisoning of a former Russian spy in England, which Britain and its allies blame on Moscow, was "a very serious incident".

"But we should be at least as worried about the galloping alienation between Russia and the West, the consequences of which stretch far beyond this case," the former foreign minister said. Moscow vehemently denies involvement in the nerve agent poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, which triggered a wave of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions between Russia and Western countries.

A dispute over Western intervention in Syria has dramatically added to the tensions in recent days. Defying Russian warnings, the United States, France and Britain carried out air strikes to punish the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, a close Moscow ally, for an alleged deadly chemical attack on the town of Douma.

Russia on Saturday failed to win UN backing for a resolution that would have condemned the "aggression" against Syria, highlighting Moscow's isolation on the international stage.