International security

Corbyn delivers Cold War warning unless borders demilitarised

Jeremy Corbyn has called for Western leaders to demilitarise the border between Russia and Eastern Europe or risk a new Cold War.

The Labour leader said he had some criticisms of Vladimir Putin, but that the West had to ensure it did not pile up forces on Russia’s border.

It comes after Nato, which Mr Corbyn has been a long-term critic of, announced a new deployment in Eastern Europe amid rising tension with Moscow.

Speaking to BBC presenter Andrew Marr, Mr Corbyn said: "I have many, many criticisms of Putin, of the human rights abuses in Russia, of the militarisation of society. But I do think there has to be a process that we try –demilitarise the border between what are now the Nato states and Russia, so that we drive apart those forces and keep them further apart in order to bring about some kind of accommodation.

"We can’t descend into a new Cold War. "