… from TASS, Moscow
[ Editor’s note: Lavrov finally comes out on the offensive over the EU’s cheap ploy of holding the Russians hostage to continued sanctions until the Minsk agreement conditions were fulfilled, when it was a “two party” agreement.
It did not take a geopolitical genius to predict that Kiev would catch the “wink and a nod” from guarantors France, Germany and the US to drag its feet on living up to Minsk as a way keeping Moscow’s feet in the fire to pressure the Republics to capitulate to save Russia’s economy.
But the West miscalculated once again. Our airhead General Breedlove of NATO spilled the beans while trying to get the EU onboard at the Munich conference for arming Kiev with offensive weapons, which was rejected. He finally had to concede their position that there was no military solution, but that “keeping the war going would give more time for the sanctions to work”.
German Intelligence was taping these discussions and leaked them quickly to support why Germany and France were not following the US brain-dead policy on increased arms shipments. Breedlove’s debased strategy shamed the American military — that he could sleep well at night, despite the massive destruction going on in SE Ukraine, as long as he got a gold star on his resume for putting a hit on the Russians.
Hollande and Merkel countered with their quick trip to Kiev and then to Moscow to powwow with Putin to set up the Minsk meeting. The US seemed to have been flanked here, but we still cannot say for sure how much of that could have been “good cop, bad cop” theater. We have been there before.
The Russians had to make a diplomatic call on whether to expose the Western duplicity of entering into an agreement which would be fulfilled in slow motion among constant Kiev violations, and where Russia could then look like it was undermining it… or let things play out so the world could see who the real Minsk violators were.
The West will never live down its cruelty to these SE Ukrainian people.I think they waited way too long. They should have made a big stink about how Germany and France were NOT guaranteeing Kiev’s compliance. But I do not run the Kremlin, last time I looked at my calendar. Better late than never Mr. Lavrov.
The other issue is Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. In his swan song when leaving to go over to the CIA, he detailed how the sanctions had brought the Russian economy to its knees. Lew publicly disclosed through this that the Ukrainians were used purely as cannon fodder in America’s trade wars with Russia. What a guy.
That means that NATO and our military are being used for the same purpose. Way to go, Jack! Where can I send my thank you check for one of those expensive coffees that I never drink?
But Russia’s economy has not been devastated. On the contrary, there has been a tremendous boomerang effect, just like the Iran sanctions did in stimulating Iran’s domestic production and pushing Eurasian military and economic consolidation up to high speed.
They are building firewalls against future sanctions and increasing defensive military spending way beyond what they would have, and quicker. Was this a huge mistake on the US’ part, or did they want this to justify our own military expansion to combat this “new threat”? Yes, the Western Axis of Evil is that evil. I personally guarantee it… Jim W. Dean ]
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– First published … April 20, 2015 –
US threats to tighten anti-Russian sanctions for what it may interpret as default on the Minsk Accords are absurd, because Kiev is the main brake on the peace process, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
“Our US and European partners are saying: ‘If the Minsk Accords are honored, we will lift sanctions from Russia’,” Lavrov said. “We have stated more than once that we are not asking anyone for the lifting of sanctions. It is up to them to decide. They introduced the sanctions on an absolutely preposterous pretext. It’s a matter of their conscience.”
“Just feel the logic of it. They say: ‘If the Minsk Accords are complied with, then the sanctions will be lifted, and if not, then Russia should be punished ever stronger,” Lavrov said. “In the meantime, a closer look at who complies with the Minsk Accords and who does not makes it clear that Kiev is the main brake on the Minsk process.”
“It turns out that the longer Kiev disrupts the implementation of the Minsk Accords, the more excuses the West invents to go ahead with pressure on Russia. That’s real absurd,” Lavrov said.
Jim W. Dean was an active editor on VT from 2010-2022. He was involved in operations, development, and writing, plus an active schedule of TV and radio interviews.
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