The Cold War may have been long over, but Russia still poses a threat to the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at present, the chief of the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) warned.
Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, General Joseph Votel said the Russian government under President Vladimir Putin is out to match the United States in all fronts.
"Russia is looking to challenge us wherever they can," Votel said during the forum.
The Special Operations commander cited the recent nuclear energy deals entered by Russia this year with three traditional US allies — Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia — as proof that Moscow is trying to expand its influence, particularly in the Middle East.
To thwart Russia's increasing threat, Votel said the SOCOM is ready to help countries who want to resist Moscow's influence.
"We work with partners to help develop their capabilities. We help our embassies with some of their messaging activities that they are doing out there to make sure that truthful information is getting out to populations," Votel explained.
"We use our civil affairs capability to help connect governments to their populations and strengthen those relationships. In doing that, (we) reduce those vulnerabilities of populations who may be vulnerable to this type of pressure they get from outside countries," he added.
The SOCOM commander further said that Russia under Putin is looking at dividing the NATO alliance. The NATO is composed of the 28 member states from North America and Europe.
"The intent is to create a situation where NATO can't continue to thrive," Votel said.
While admitting that he does not have "unique insights" about Putin, the general thinks the Russian president sees the expansion of the NATO as a threat.
"I think what they (Moscow) are attempting to do is create these frozen conflicts and create situations that are very, very difficult to resolve along their border," Votel said.
"That does and could pose an existential threat," he added.
