"Obviously, it is some kind of an anti-Russian manifesto, an attempt to draw new dividing lines in Europe and bring the world back to the atmosphere of the Cold War," the Foreign Ministry's press department said.
In her article, Tymoshenko, a strong opponent of the alleged new Russian expansionism, outlines a fresh concept of containing Russia on the world arena, drawing obvious parallels with the 1940s doctrine developed by U.S. diplomat George Kennan, reputedly the chief ideologist of the Cold War.
The charismatic leader of the 2005 "orange revolution" in Ukraine, Tymoshenko says in the article that she does not believe in the possibility of a new Cold War, but concedes the failure of the West to develop a realistic and effective policy toward Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
Tymoshenko insists that regardless of the success of the reforms in the country, the West should not expect Russia to transform its imperial nature, and calls upon Western governments to formulate a coordinated approach toward the Kremlin on all issues, from democracy, Chechnya and Kosovo, to transit protocol, the Energy Charter, Iran and Russia's attitude toward its neighbors.
She also claims that adherence to the concept of collective security had ensured prosperity and peace in Europe for the last 60 years and today it should be transformed into a new "collective energy market strategy" that denies any separate deals with Gazprom, which threaten European plans to build pipelines bypassing Russia and allow Russia's emerging energy giant to practice blackmail policies.
Tymoshenko proposes using against Gazprom the same anti-monopoly procedures the EU applies against Microsoft, thoroughly analyzing the potential problems that the Russian company might face with gas production in the future.
The Ukrainian politician says the Kremlin "has lost a sense of proportion" enjoying high revenues from energy exports and Russia needs to be pushed for the first time in history to concentrate on the development of its own territory rather than on pursuing its ambitious expansionist goals.
Commenting on Tymoshenko's arguments, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the article leaves the impression that she wrote it with the assistance of Kennan's compatriots, "who continue to dwell in the past," and "feel nostalgic" about the relations in Europe based on military confrontation.
"Despite the end of the Cold War, there are still forces in global politics that cannot step over their own ego and overcome the intellectual and political-psychological inheritance of that period, including plans to 'contain Russia'," the ministry said in a statement.
The Foreign Ministry said that such "surrealism" in global politics could reduce possibilities for international cooperation in all spheres that are a common concern for the whole world, including new threats and challenges to global security and sustainable development.
"We cannot ignore attempts to turn back time," the statement said. ""But, in any case, Russia will not allow itself to be involved in a new confrontation."
The ministry said Russia will continue to adhere to its foreign policy principles, such as pragmatism and a multi-vectoral approach, and will promote the positive agenda of international relations finding constructive alternatives to the resolution of disputed issues on the global arena.
At the same time, the ministry welcomed the fact that "certain forces in Ukraine have decided to play an open game" in the current situation.
"At least, many nuances have become clear and straightened out," the ministry said.
"The refusal to interact with Russia as an equal partner, revitalized attempts to apply ideological and military pressure in international relations, NATO's eastward expansion, 'harassment' tactics against Russia on the post-Soviet space, U.S. plans to place elements of its global missile defense system in Europe - all these pieces fall into a unified strategy aimed at promoting the concept of a unipolar world, despite modern reality," the statement said.
Moscow reiterated that 15 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union were enough to prove the illusory character of this concept.
"We would not want to think that the current crisis in Ukraine is part of this old and repetitive scenario," the Foreign Ministry said. "As always happens in history that could only turn into a farce and aggravate the current situation even further."
Some experts believe, though, that Tymoshenko's article published at the height of the new Ukrainian crisis could indicate that the era of the incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko, a weak leader with a tendency for compromise, is ending, and Tymoshenko, as the brightest and most uncompromising ideologist of the "orange revolution," is taking the lead.
According to Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the Russia in Global Politics magazine, Tymoshenko's article points out at her readiness to opt for a tough anti-Russian policy and for highlighting, rather than smoothing over, geopolitical differences in order to gain political advantage over Yushchenko.
In this situation, the expert said in an April 11 interview with Russia's Vremya Novostei daily, Moscow may yield to the temptation to interfere in Ukraine, which may open an entirely new geopolitical game.
