The US Government Sends Firefighting Aid to Cold-War Rival Russia

The United States of America has had numerous hostile rifts with Russia (Soviet Union) in the past. One of the most notable was the Cold War where fears of nuclear annihilation were instituted. It was during that time where both the U.S. and Soviet Union (now Russia) developed massive amounts of nuclear weapons in order to serve as nuclear deterrence against each other. Both nations developed intense hate for each other that a single wrong move by any party would trigger another major war. Eventually, the Soviet Union collapsed and the most feared war didn’t actually materialize.

Today, there are still conflicts that involve both the U.S. and Russia. For instance, the Russia-Georgia war was greatly condemned by the U.S. Also, the plan of the U.S. to install a missile defense complex in Poland was also contradicted by Russia. Eventually, Pres. Obama decided to scrap the missile defense plan in order to ease tensions with Russia. Since Obama took the highest position in office, the U.S. has put greater emphasis in rebuilding trust and partnership with Russia.

As proof that the long time rivals has finally decided to step up cooperation, U.S. Pres. Barack Obama told Russian Pres. Dmitry Medvedev that they are sending aid in the form of firefighting equipment in order to help Russia battle wildfires. If you have been hearing the news lately, you probably heard that over 500 separate wildfires have swept over 2000 homes and claimed not less than 50 people in Russia. In a move that might certainly ease tensions between two former rivals, the U.S. is helping Russia battle wildfires.

The White House clearly emphasized that there were no U.S. personnel involved and that the aid was purely firefighting equipments and protective gears. Russia reportedly asked for assistance from the U.S. and thus they obliged. It has also been reported that several nuclear installations in Russia are being threatened to be destroyed by these fires. With several Russian cities engulfed by thick black smoke, it is evident that Russia needs all the help it can get in fighting these destructive wildfires.

This move by the U.S. government is a strong indication that the two nuclear powers are easing tensions with one another and are starting to develop partnership. Also just recently, the U.S. held Anti-terrorist drills with Russia most specifically in intercepting hijacked aircraft. Both American and Russian citizens will benefit from this breakthrough as fears of the Cold War will finally ease. A stronger cooperation and partnership will yield better results rather than remain in hostility and fear.