The major US Republican presidential contenders can boast tough rhetoric on Russia. As the party nomination process gathers momentum, candidates are digging up a little old school anti-Russian sentiment. Could the Cold War be making a comeback?

Upon taking office, Mitt Romney “will reset the reset” with Russia, his official website says in terms of what the presidential contender thinks about shaping the US policy towards Russia.

The former Massachusetts Governor is one the most ardent critics of Moscow among the contenders. He promises he will “implement a strategy that will seek to discourage aggressive or expansionist behavior on the part of Russia and encourage democratic political and economic reform.”

Romney accuses President Barack Obama of what he calls a “We give, Russia gets” policy and believes the new START treaty signed by the two countries in 2010 was part of this policy “failure”. He says he will “review the implementation of New START and other decisions by the Obama administration regarding America's nuclear posture and arms-control policies.”