Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Washington's Ukraine regime change apparently marks the beginning of a new Cold War. 

Not content with destabilizing North Africa and Middle East through the Libyan and Syrian regime change policies, the US and its allies now are destabilizing the center of Europe. 

The world was made aware of the long-standing premeditated US regime change policy. The revelation of the neoconservative US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland's phone call and her vulgar reference to the EU are the tip of the iceberg.

It is now clear that the US-backed regime change is a coup d'etat with the new leaders handpicked by Washington and endorsed by the EU and NATO. Nuland's pet politician, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, whom she referred to as "Yats" in the phone call, is now Ukraine's prime minister.

A number of the new cabinet members, including Yatsenyuk, are linked to the Fatherland party of Yulia Tymoshenko, who was just released from prison to which she was sentenced on corruption charges. Other members have links to extreme right neo-fascist and neo-Nazi movements and parties. 

It is shocking to not a few that Yatsenyuk, who reportedly comes from a Jewish academic family, is associating with known neo-Nazis. Politics does indeed make for strange bedfellows.

Did the White House think it could carry out a regime change in an area of Europe which is of particular historic and geopolitical significance to Russia and get away with it? Some US politicians in Obama's administration are wholly unsuited to their responsibilities and should be dismissed for their recklessness. 

The Republican Party is no better, however, as its politicians' inflammatory Cold War rhetoric demonstrates. The Republican Party's foreign policy is also dominated by neoconservative advisors. It is thus no surprise that almost all of Washington is singing the same tune on Ukraine.

Did the White House expect Russia to roll over on Crimea and Sevastopol where its historic Black Sea Fleet is based?  Empress Catherine the Great, a friend of the US, conquered this region over two centuries ago and established the naval base there.

Did the White House expect Russia to roll over on Ukraine and the large Russian ethnic community there? This region was part of Imperial Russia and later part of Soviet Russia.

Did the White House expect Russia to roll over on Ukraine and the Russian Orthodox community there that is linked to the Moscow Patriarchate? It was Prince Vladimir of Kiev who in 988 converted to the Christian faith as expressed in the Orthodox Church. Russian President Vladimir Putin bears this saint's name as did his father.

The last time I visited Russia was in June 1999 when I had the opportunity to exchange views with officials and academics in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Nizhny Novgorod. Russia was then suffering from the wrenching change of system and from massive exploitation of its predicament.

The Putin years began a phase of Russian national rejuvenation.

Western leaders could have made it a point to attend the Sochi Olympic Games and to discuss behind the scenes key issues such as the crisis in Ukraine. This was a lost diplomatic opportunity as well as a slight to Russia. Now they are losing another opportunity by boycotting the G8 summit in Sochi.

Washington's neoconservatives and politicians finally succeeded in provoking Russia.  The White House and Congress may well have thrown away the opportunity to work in concert with Russia on the major international issues of the day.  There was no intention in Washington to set the old Cold War aside. There will be no new type of major power relations between the US and Russia as long as Washington promotes its new Cold War with Russia. 

The author is an educator and former senior professional staff member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn