Iran May Keep Nuclear Program After Ukraine, Cohen Says
By Gopal Ratnam Apr 18, 2014 12:00 AM ET
Iran may be less likely to halt its nuclear weaponry program after the U.S. and Europe failed to stop Russia from annexing part of Ukraine, which 20 years ago gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees, said former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen.
In the case of Ukraine “having given up its nuclear weapons in a deal that was supposed to guarantee their independence, we now see their independence being rolled back by Russia,” Cohen said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt” airing this weekend. “I think that sends a signal to the Iranians, certainly to the North Koreans and others, that maybe we’ve got to hold on to what we have or try to get what we don’t have.”
Cohen, 73, a Republican who served as Defense secretary under Democratic President Bill Clinton, expressed concern about “a sense” among world leaders that “the United States is pulling back from a global affairs.” He also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin sees America as “weakened.”
“Whether the perception is correct or not, is not really the issue; if the perception is there, it can create a very dangerous dynamic” and gives the U.S. “diminished leverage” in responding to matters like the Ukrainian crisis, Cohen said.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-17/iran-may-keep-nuclear-program-after-ukraine-cohen-says.html
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