Showing posts with label NATO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NATO. Show all posts

Friday, December 11, 2015

The US Coalition is Building up Forces in Iraq to Invade Syria

Scroll Down for Important World News in Video Format including LIVE News Feed to RT


By: Stewart Brennan

The Insane Push Towards WWIII in Syria by the US and its allies

The United States has stepped up their plans to remove the Assad government by calling for its allies to assemble a joint military force in Iraq. However, as most of us know, the primary purpose of this coalition is to remove the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government from power in Syria.

Pentagon demands more from action anti-ISIS coalition allies


Source: Russia Today

The US is insisting that their gulf state allies join the US war coalition to fight ISIS / ISIL / Daesh in Iraq and Syria. It is not a request nor is it going to be unanswered, as the main culprits in calling for the downfall of Bashar – al-Assad such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are all going to put their hired mercenaries together with Turkey’s armed forces and a small fraction of European nations with air power and support via France, Germany and the UK.

Breaking News

According to Iraqi opposition MP Hanan Fatlawi, the head of the opposition Irada Movement:

“A hundred thousand foreign troops, including 90,000 from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Jordan, and 10,000 troops from America will be deployed in western regions of Iraq,” she wrote on her Facebook page.

The Iraqi MP said that the US plan was announced to the Iraqi government, during a recent visit by US Senator John McCain on November 27, 2015. McCain told Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi, senior cabinet ministers and Iraqi military officials that the decision was “non-negotiable”. Hanan Fatlawi added that the Iraqi prime minister protested the plan, but was told that, “the decision has already been taken.” (Taken by whom?)

Indeed, this is very important information...and sheds more light on why Turkey invaded Northern Iraq and refuses to leave...you can be absolutely sure that Turkish government officials oil deals with ISIS certainly has something to do with it as well.

But what is really disturbing if not already alarming, is the fact that Turkey’s invasion of a sovereign state is supported by the US Government; which further proves their hypocrisy and mockery of International law.

International Law?

One moment the US says Turkey had a right to protect its airspace from intrusion and the next moment it says Iraq does not have a right to protect itself from invasion by NATO member Turkey. (Dmitry Babich sums it up perfectly here.)

This fact alone should tell everyone that the US has lost its common sense and is in the hands of madmen…madmen like Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and everyone connected to the US Foreign Policy who are itching to go to war with Russia...and Iran… 

Iraqi PM demands 48-hr deadline be met as Turkey refuses to withdraw


Source: Press TV

The US Government also makes clear that Iraq is occupied by the US Military, serving notice to the Iraqi government that they will do as they are told or else…This arrogant attitude by US sociopaths is all too common now and the norm that one would attribute to a belligerent Fascist Dictatorship...Occupation brings out the sociopaths attitudes and actions as we saw by the results of their War Crime of invading and destroying Iraq in 2003.

Shock and Awe (Part 1 of 2)


Original Source: Deep Dish TV

Shock and Awe (Part 2 of 2)


Original Source: Deep Dish TV

The ball is in Iraq’s court now. The question on everyone’s mind is, “Will the Iraqi government officially invite Russia into Iraq to help remove the terrorist threats?” Not so long ago the Iraqi government allowed Russia to fly cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea over their country to hit targets in Syria…it’s safe to say that there are billions of people around the world and millions inside Iraq, hoping that Iraq government invites the Russians in to help them remove the chains of American Occupation.

Russian warships attack ISIS positions in Syria from Caspian Sea


Source: Russia Today

However, if an invite doesn’t go out to the Russians by the Iraqi government, then we can surmise that the American’s threatened the Iraqi government as John McCain’s reply seems to indicate…

US Coalition Troops from Middle East Countries?

Of special note in the bombshell notice by Iraqi opposition MP Hanan Fatlawi is the reference to troops from the Middle East countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Jordan, who contract mercenaries to fight for them from firms such as Blackwater / Xe Services / Academii / Dyne Corp, etc. Could these be the 70,000 strong Syrian Free Army David Cameron was talking about?

SNP: Of 70,000 how many moderates, how many fundamentalists?


Source: Russia Today

The US is putting together a mercenary army recruited by various spy agencies tied to western nations and trained by Blackwater, Xe Services, Academi etc. They are funded and employed by the Gulf State monarchy’s and are used to destabilize other Middle Eastern governments in countries such as Syria and Yemen.

Another commander of the UAE Blackwater mercenaries killed in Yemen


Source: South Front

Once again, foreign mercenaries connected to Blackwater / Xe Services / Academi are caught dead handed causing mayhem and destruction for western corporate interests in the Middle East. In this case, the terrorist corporation was contracted by the Saudi’s, and caught in Yemen.

The New York Times reported on November 25 that the UAE has"secretly" deployed 450 Latin American troops, mostly from Colombia, but also from Panama, El Salvador and Chile, to fight in the war on Yemen.

Yemeni sources also say that the Colombians fighting in Yemen are part of a larger battalion who have been training in the UAE deserts over the past five years.

Of course, Saudi Arabia is currently leading a coalition of forces from Egypt, Sudan, Colombia and private contractors against the Yemeni army and Ansarullah movement.


How Much More Proof Do We Need?

The significance of this unfolding story is massive, as it not only, once again, points the finger at the US and its partners for organized terrorism around the World but it implicates them beyond a shadow of a doubt…which is something many of us have been saying since Blackwater was first exposed for their crimes in Iraq back in...2007

Blackwater / Xe Services / Academi are just a few of the major organizations behind recruiting, training, and equipping the terrorists throughout the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa over the years…there is also a new one that Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater now heads called “Frontier Services Group” although it operates in Africa and is tied to both Western and Chinese Interests. 

Also connected in this coalition of deceit are the Israeli, Saudi and various European secret service agencies for logistics in their own spheres as branch, support, or contributing departments to the overall goals of destabilization of Independent nations such as Syria, Yemen, Iran, Iraq and Russia.

Organizations like Blackwater / Xe Services / Academi, are mercenary corporations and covert military organizations that are deeply imbedded with weapons manufacturers, OECD secret services, Investment Banks and the US Pentagon…They operate much the same way a corporation does only they are military specialists and technicians who train terrorists and mercenary armies…

How hard can it be to recruit people, when you have an endless supply of money and equipment? Untrained terrorists could not operate sophisticated military equipment without specific instruction on how to assemble and operate weapons such as those US TOW missile launchers

The tools used by the US and their allies to covertly attack target nations are groups like Blackwater / Xe Services / Academi who should be labelled more correctly as organized terrorism…

Here is the connection to the terrorist armies called ISIS / ISIL / Daesh, or whatever name they choose to be called today…simply put, the terrorists in Syria and Iraq are operated by the same mercenary groups that the former Bush government unleashed on Iraq since 2003. They are funded by regimes such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. Their weapons are provided by the western countries, but mainly by the US military Industrial corporations owned by financial oligarchs who direct these companies by the weight of their majority stock shares. They are a crime syndicate that deals in smuggling oil, drugs, weapons, and pillaged historical artefacts and also drive a slave trade. They are the most ruthless and barbaric people on the planet next to their sociopathic enablers.

There’s a War Coming…

There was an article written in 2007 by JP Briggs II, Ph.D., and Thomas D. Williams for Truthout June 29th, 2007 called “Bush, Mideast Wars & End-Time Prophecy” that goes into great detail about how US foreign policy become dangerously steeped in ideas of Armageddon, the Apocalypse, an imminent war with Satanic forces in the Middle East, and an urgency to construct an American theocracy to fulfill God's end-of-days plan.

Featured prominently in this western doomsday Geo-politicult are some of the main characters that would like to see Iran and Syria destroyed. (IE: AIPAC, John Hagee, Franklin Graham, The Apostolic Congress, Kenneth Blackwell, Gen. William Boykin, Christian Embassy, James Dobson, Benny Hinn, Tim LaHaye, Rod Parsley, Erik Prince, among many others)

Included in these prominent End Time Christian groups and individuals was none other than “Erik Prince” the creator of “Blackwater” who was recently interviewed by Asia Times on Sept 25, 2015 on how to defeat Islamic State…and not surprisingly his answer comes in the guise of a twisted end times prophesy…

Recently, “Blackwater” now under UAE management, was in the news again as a number of their international recruits were killed in clashes with Houthi Ansarullah fighters and allied forces in Yemen’s southwestern Ta’izz Province bringing the total number of Blackwater forces killed in the past few days to 14.

This is the same private security firm that was exposed from leaked Stratfor emails to be helping fellow terrorists overthrow the Bashar al-Assad government in 2012…The same firm which also operated extensively in Libya…

Of course, Security groups including Blackwater were also involved in training terrorists in Turkey’s border region with Syria to fight the Syrian Army.

It looks like the US and its allies have created a World War III theatre based on the End Times Prophesies with a real manufactured terrorist army recruited, programmed, trained, and armed by the US, their allies and private security firms…and they are directing it at the western TV audience in all its blood curdling horror to justify the war they are waging on Syria, and planning on Iran…

However, Russia has stolen their thunder and seems to have spoiled their plans. In fact, the panic state we now see the US and its Gulf State partners in, is the direct result of Russia shining light in dark places…places like the Turkey / ISIS oil trade in the Azaz district of Aleppo, Northern Syria. A place that Erik Prince conveyed to Asia times was where the US should concentrate their war plans…of course, his plan was mentioned before Russia began its attack on terrorism in Syria.

Sobering Reality

The US and its Gulf State allies are building up a terrorist mercenary force to overthrow the elected Syrian government and its President, Bashar al-Assad while they are also engaged in destroying the Syrian infrastructure…they are taking direct action to back up their statement…

Saudi FM: Riyadh to continue supporting militants in Syria unless Assad steps down


Source: Press TV

Russia is smack in the middle of this rapidly escalating build up to a Syrian invasion by the US Coalition and NATO allies, which includes Turkey…who the US has stressed they will back with article 5 of the NATO treaty.

Russia has no choice but to hold its ground, because a loss in Syria will bring the US sponsored terrorists right to their own borders, and that is precisely what the US government wants. So when Vladimir Putin discusses in front of news cameras, the accuracy and ability of their cruise missiles, that they could be armed with Nuclear weapons, he is not bluffing. He's being up front by letting everyone know, that what the US government is planning, will lead to catastrophic events.

Vladimir Putin states that Nuclear weapons would never be needed to fight terrorism and he hopes they never have to use them against terrorists…it is my considered opinion that Vladimir Putin is telling the west, in no uncertain words, that if you decide to go down that road, and unleash your full power using a terrorist army against us, then Russia will take the appropriate actions to deal with the threat.

Hopefully, no nukes will be needed’ against ISIS – Putin


Source: Russia Today

Russia will defend itself if the west and its allies use this mercenary terrorist coalition against them…and they will defend with whatever means necessary to protect themselves, so the US coalition better be very careful in what their next steps will be…because the ramp up of 100,000 mercenary troops looks more like anInsane Push Towards WWIII by the US and its allies…it would have been much better for everyone, if the US joined the legal Russian coalition in Syria...

Any threats to Russian military in Syria will be destroyed - Putin



Source: Russia Today
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LINKS:

Turkey Invades Iraq (The US and Turkey Face off with Iraq & Russia)


Turkey Oil Smuggling with ISIS


The US & NATO Back Turkey


Turkey


Blackwater, Xe Services, Academi - Constellis Group

Syria: News Archive and Time Line of Foreign Sponsored Terrorist War on Syria


Additional Links:




Monday, December 7, 2015

The US Military Deliberately Bombed the Syrian Army

Scroll Down for Important World News in Video Format including LIVE News Feed to RT


By: Stewart Brennan

The US Military bombed a Syrian Army Position today, and in doing so, provided air cover for the Daesh mercenary terrorist army in the area.

Considering that the US Government insists that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must go, it now appears that the Americans and their coalition are engaged in actions to make that happen.

The US is currently forming a coalition to bomb Syria with some of their European NATO allies, while also supporting their NATO partner Turkey even after their illegal oil trade with the Daesh Terrorists, their bombing raids on Syria and their shooting down of the Russian Military jet over Syrian Airspace.

Despite the obvious crime of shooting down the Russian bomber, the US saw fit to excuse Turkey and warn Russia that if Russia retaliated against Turkey, then NATO would respond and evoke Article 5 of the NATO treaty...and that my friends, would lead to World War III; that's how serious this is.

The recent additions (France, Germany, and the UK), to the American war coalition against Syria, seems to have the US feeling it has a moral right to bomb Syria as they continue to insist that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad must go. The US Military escalation in Syria today proves without a doubt that the American’s are determined to eliminate the legitimate Syrian President and his government by force no matter what anyone thinks and it looks like they will destroy the entire country in doing so…

The US doesn't have to put American troops on the ground because they already employ a terrorist mercenary army in both Syria and Iraq, I say without hesitation that the US government and their NATO allies ARE THE TERRORISTS!

US-led coalition strikes Syrian army compound, several dead & injured


Source: Russia Today

What next?

Now that the American’s are exposed for clearly trying to destroy the Syrian Army, there will be a United Nations Security Council meeting to condemn the US Military action. The US will then deny their part or they will say it was an unfortunate incident, even though they had the coordinates of the Syrian army positions as well as the terrorist positions. Once again, Russia will be the real diplomat and call for the US and its illegal coalition (France, UK, Germany, Turkey, and others) to join the real and legal Russian coalition trying to rid the region of terrorism…to which the US response will be to turn the offer down and insist that the Russians work with the US and their coalition…

Russia has said it will abide by the Law unlike their American counter parts, so nothing will be resolved as the US will continue to thumb their nose at International law by conducting a “NON UN Sanctioned Attack” on an Independent nation…which by international law is a “War Crime”.

The US and its coalition STILL say Assad must go…they don’t have that right, only the Syrian people have that right; and if one really respects the Syrian peoples rights, then one would NOT be bombing their country without the Syrian governments permission, because everything must be coordinated with the ONLY real military force on the ground battling the terrorists..."The Syrian Army" who the US just bombed.

The ONLY legal way forward is for the US and its NATO vassal states to work with Russia, Iran and the Syrian government, to eliminate terrorism in Syria. The same can be said for eliminating terrorism in Iraq as well, where the US & Turkey have also broken international law and invaded that country repeatedly…when is this US Bullshit going to stop?

Anyone who believes that the US, Turkey, France, UK, and Germany (among others) are there fighting terrorism in the name of humanity have intentionally chosen to blind themselves by propaganda bullshit. If the US and its so called coalition were serious about eliminating terrorism then they would have joined the Russian initiative from the very start…even so, with all the so called “accidents” that are now piling up, one would expect a civilized human being to apologize, to admit their mistakes and join with a legitimate group who are really confronting terrorism head on…

Unfortunately, we are dealing with a gang of nations mostly from NATO countries who insist on removing the Syrian government regardless of the cost. They support belligerent terror funding countries like Saudi Arabiawithout question.

Saudi Arabia threatens Syria President Assad with military action


Source: Press TV

Both Syria and Iraq have been totally obliterated. They will never be the same again as the War crimes that started all of this back in 2003 in Iraq, has left the entire region in an absolute state of oblivion thanks to the US & UK who will not cease until every community in the Middle East has been destroyed and gutted of its history, and that is not a joke because it’s not far off…

Could it be that they the US & its allies are concerned with their “Interests”? And, what are those interests and who benefits? Have they told you yet? Maybe its “OIL” and their domination of the energy supplies throughout the region. It certainly isn’t freedom and democracy because what they are doing does NOT bring Freedom and Democracy!! Who benefits in the region? The ones bombing Syria should give everyone a crystal clear picture…And who is warring on Syria? The US, UK, France, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel, Qatar, and others…I suspect they all get a piece of the action in their violent and malevolent game of Thrones.

Anyone with a moral conscious cannot support the actions of these heinous war crimes, if they do, then they are declaring that they support the very evil they claim to be fighting against. Shame on them, and shame on those who support the destruction of humanity…

At this rate, every nation on earth that does not side with the USA will be branded as the enemy, if they haven’t already been labelled so…

Terrorism all over the World is supported, funded, trained, and armed by the US, UK, France, Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Qatar, and others who’s GDP and economic interests are tied to the weapons manufacturers that are owned by these gang members of the economic mafia…

I’m absolutely disgusted with all of them and if and when the time comes, where I will be told to pick a side, I will not fight for this rabid bunch of criminal scumbags and neither should you if you have a moral compass!
------------------------------------------ 
LINKS:

US & NATO at War with the Syrian People & The Syrian Army

Vladimir Putin Sums up Global Situation


Syria: News Archive & Time Line of Foreign Sponsored Terrorist War on Syria


The US: News Archive and Time Line of Internal Violence and Global War Crimes


Saudi Arabia's Crimes


Israeli Crimes on Syria


Wednesday, December 2, 2015

US Complicit in Terrorist Oil Trade with Turkey

Updated: 2015 Dec 03

Scroll Down for Important World News in Video Format including LIVE News Feed to RT


By: Stewart Brennan

How is it that the American Military cannot see the terrorist oil operations on the ground in Syria and Russia can? That’s the question US news media personnel should be asking themselves and then asking their government…but alas, there really isn’t a news media in the USA anymore unless you go online and look for the alternative media. The American mainstream media is nothing more than a military corporate propaganda mouth piece that is staffed by spineless washouts who’ve sold their souls and moral compass’s for 30 pieces of silver…the American Media is owned by special interests with deep pockets and they are in collusion with the US Pentagon and corporate America.

The 6 Corporations That Control Your Perception of World Events (2013)



No wonder the US population has no clue about what is going on in the world, and it also explains how special interests run the entire geopolitical show. Is there any doubt? 

The US Military is Protecting the Terrorists, not bombing them.

It has become quite obvious that the US military is not interested in destroying the terrorists they claim to be bombing. Especially when their targets are the Syrian infrastructure and not the terrorist oil pipeline that goes into Turkey via hundreds of trucks everyday.

UN slams airstrike on water treatment facility in Syria’s Aleppo


Source: Press TV

The US government does not care about the Syrian people, if it did, they would not be bombing the vital infrastructure that keeps the people alive…

The US & Turkish governments also deny having any knowledge about the illegal oil trade going on under their noses. Oh really? So, how is it that the Russians, who have one military base in the region, can provide all the evidence of the illegal terrorist oil truck pipeline in stark detail, and the Americans who have 100 plus military bases throughout the region, along with dozens of satellites, and a fleet of hi tech drones, cannot provide any intelligence on the terrorist practices? Come on, who are they kidding??…And how is it that Turkey doesn’t know about what is going on in its own country? Especially when they have an extravagant spying system in place throughout the country…just say the words “Kurdish Independence” or “Armenian genocide” and see how fast some state thug shows up at your door to arrest you…oblivious indeed…pfffft.

Russian military reveals details of ISIS-Turkey oil smuggling


Source: Russia Today

Can the Americans really claim that they didn't know about the illegal terrorist oil pipeline between Syria and Turkey where their so called moderate terrorists are, trained, supplied, and set upon the Syrian people?

The Americans back the terrorists and the Turkish government on a number of levels, from oil smuggling, military weapons supply to the looting of Syria’s cultural history and artifacts. The terrorist smuggling operations run all the way into Turkey from the terrorist positions in Syria!

However, Russia spoiled American, and Turkish regional plans when they began bombing terrorist positions and supply lines...this has really pissed off war mongering Senators like John McCain & Lindsey Graham. They have been seething in anger since the Russians seized the American "war on terror" away from the US Military in Syria where the Russians were doing what the Americans were never doing, "bombing the terrorists"…

US Senator John McCain: Arm Syrian Rebels to shoot down Russian planes


Source: YouTube

Lindsey Graham shows the US Governments Insanity, wants war on Syrian govt



The Americans and Turks were caught red handed by the Russians. They cannot deny the evidence anymore, because its right in their faces…no wonder the American mainstream media is pouring all their viewers attention into another home grown violent episode instead of putting the focus on Turkey being caught in bed with the terrorists and the terrorist oil trade. Certainly this is a much bigger story…

Erdogan & his family involved in ISIS oil trade


Source: Russia Today

The Turkish government was also caught supplying the terrorists with weapons by one of the last remaining independent news mediums inside Turkey (Cumhuriyet). However, the journalists were arrested by Turkey’s government and thrown in Jail for treason…funny, whistle blowers in the USA such as Bradley Manning and Edward Snowdon get the same treatment so it is no wonder Turkey is a close friend and partner in crime with the US government, they’re exactly alike.

Turkish weapons ‘heading to end in ISIS hands’: RT speaks to Cumhuriyet journalists


Source: Russia Today

Recently, a prominent Iraqi politician pleaded with the US military government to stop the Illegal oil trade but his plea fell on deaf ears.

“I have personally contacted US representatives asking them to target IS trucks transporting Iraqi and Syrian oil to Turkey, only to be told that they were civilian targets so they, the US Military could not attack them,” Mowaffak al-Rubaie, leader of the State of Law Coalition party in the Iraqi parliament.

ISIS sells the oil to Turkey on the black market for less than 50% of world prices – Iraqi MP


Source: Russia Today

Of course, the US Government rejects Russia’s evidencebecause it seriously damages not only the Turkish governments credibility, but also that of the US government and its corporate military industrial complex.

Erdogan promised to step down if proof was given...well, proof was given...I'm waiting...

Erdogan promises to resign if ISIS oil links to Turkey are confirmed


Source: Russia Today

TIME TO RESIGN

Hey Erdoguns, time to resign…and free those journalists you’ve locked up for telling the truth about your shady deals with ISIS / ISIL / Daesh terrorists…You, Erdogan, Davutoglu and the US Government are busted…


The routes of alleged oil smuggling from Syria and Iraq to Turkey © syria.mil.ru
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LINKS:

Terrorist Oil Trade and Weapons Via Turkey


Words of War


Syria: News Archive and Time Line of Foreign Sponsored Terrorist War on Syria


Turkey


Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Vladimir Putin’s full speech on the Results of the Crimean Referendum



Video Source: RT YouTube
http://youtu.be/PDLwu4E35us

Putin: Crimea similar to Kosovo, West is rewriting its own rule book


Source: Russia Today
http://on.rt.com/0e4qji

Crimea’s secession from Ukraine was just like Kosovo’s secession from Serbia, and any arguments otherwise are just attempts to bend the West-advocated rules that were applied to the Kosovo case, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

The statements came as Putin was addressing the Russian parliament to convince lawmakers to ratify a treaty, which would make Crimea part of the Russian Federation.

In the speech he challenged Washington’s position, which says that Kosovo was a unique case and could not justify any other move towards independence in the world.

“Our western partners created the Kosovo precedent with their own hands. In a situation absolutely the same as the one in Crimea they recognized Kosovo’s secession from Serbia legitimate while arguing that no permission from a country’s central authority for a unilateral declaration of independence is necessary,” Putin reminded, adding that the UN International Court of Justice agreed to those arguments.

“That’s what they wrote, that what they trumpeted all over the world, coerced everyone into it – and now they are complaining. Why is that?” he asked.

Putin dismissed the argument that Kosovo was unique due to the large number of victims during the Balkan wars and the dissolution of Yugoslavia.

“It’s beyond double standards,” Putin said. “It’s a kind of baffling, primitive and blatant cynicism. One can’t just twist things to fit his interests, to call something white on one day and black on the next one.”

The president dismissed the allegations that Russia is violating international law with its actions in Ukraine.

“Well’ it’s good that they at least recalled that there is international law. Thank you very much. Better late than never,” Putin said adding that in fact nothing of this kind happened.

‘In Ukraine the West crossed the red line’


In fact, it was Russia that defended international law and its institutions, while western countries have been diminishing them. The situation in Crimea is just a reflection of this broader process, which has been happening for decades now.

In the practical application of policies, our western partners – the United States first and foremost – prefer to be guided not by international law, but by the right of strength. They believe in their exceptionalism, that they are allowed to decide on the fate of the world, that they are always right,” Putin charged.

This disregard to rule of law was evident in Yugoslavia in 1999, when NATO bombed the country without a UN Security Council mandate, the Russian president said. There was Afghanistan, Iraq and the perversion of the UNSC resolution on Libya, when instead of imposing a no-fly zone NATO bombed the country into submission.

There were also orchestrated “colored revolutions” in Europe and the Arab World, which cynically used the feelings of people tired with corruption and poverty. The latest Ukrainian events are just the latest of such actions, and Russia’s willingness to seek dialogue and compromise was stonewalled again, Putin said.

“They were cheating us once more, took decisions behind our back, presented us with a fait accompli,” he said, adding that the patter is identical to that which accompanied NATO’s expansion to the east, the deployment of an anti-ballistic missile system, visa restrictions and numerous other issues.

“They are constantly trying to corner us in retaliation for our having an independent position, for defending it, for calling things by their names and not being hypocritical,” Putin accused. “Everything has its limits, and in Ukraine our western partners crossed the red line. They acted brutally, irresponsibly and unprofessionally.”

Putin said the West must stop being hysterical, restrain from the Cold War rhetoric and admit the obvious: “Russia is an independent and active participant of international relations. Just like any nation it has national interests that must be taken into consideration and respected.”

As for the Ukrainian red line, the coup-imposed authorities in Kiev voiced their desire to join NATO, and such a move would pose an imminent threat to Russia, Putin said.

“We stand against having a military organization meddling in our backyard, next to our homeland or in the territories that are historically ours. I just cannot imagine visiting NATO sailors in Sevastopol,” he stressed. “Most of them are fine lads, by the way. But rather let them visit us in Sevastopol than the other way around.”

At the end of his speech, Putin announced the submission to parliament of a draft federal law which would incorporate Crimea and the City of Sevastopol into Russian territory, as well as a request to ratify an international treaty with the government of Crimea to make this happen. He said he was sure of the legislature’s support for both documents.

--------------------------------

News Updates on the unfolding events in Ukraine



 

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Deploying military force is last resort, but we reserve right - Putin

 
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin (RIA Novosti / Alexey Nokolskiy)

Source: Russia Today

Russia will not go to war with the people of Ukraine, but will use its troops to protect citizens, if radicals with clout in Kiev now try to use violence against Ukrainian civilians, particularly ethnic Russians, Putin told the media.

Putin, who was given a mandate by the Russian senate to use military force to protect civilians in Ukraine, said there is no need for such an action yet.

Putin cited the actions of radical activists in Ukraine, including the chaining of a governor to a stage as public humiliation and the killing of a technician during an opposition siege of the Party of Regions HQ, as justification for Russia to be concerned for the lives and well-being of people in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Incidents like those are why Russia reserves the option of troop deployment on the table.

“If we see this lawlessness starting in eastern regions, if the people ask us for help – in addition to a plea from a legitimate president, which we already have – then we reserve the right to use all the means we possess to protect those citizens. And we consider it quite legitimate,” he said.

Russia is not planning to go to war with the Ukrainian people, Putin stressed, when a journalist asked if he was afraid of war. But Russian troops would prevent any attempts to target Ukrainian civilians, should they be deployed.

“We are not going to a war against the Ukrainian people,” he said. “I want you to understand it unambiguously. If we do take a decision, it would only be to protect Ukrainian citizens. Let anybody in the military dare, and they’d be shooting their own people, who would stand up in front of us. Shoot at women and children. I’d like to see anyone try and order such a thing in Ukraine.”

Putin dismissed the notion that the uniformed armed people without insignia who are currently present in Crimea are Russian soldiers. He said they are members of the Crimean self-defense forces and that they are no better equipped and trained than some radical fighters who took part in the ousting of Yanukovich.

He assured that the surprise military drills in Russia’s west which ended on Tuesday had nothing to do with the Ukrainian situation.

Sanction threats are counterproductive

Asked about criticism of Russia over its stance on Ukraine, Putin dismissed the accusations that Russia is acting illegitimately. He stated that even if Russia does use force in Ukraine, it would not violate international law.

At the same time he accused the United States and its allies of having no regard to legitimacy when they use military force in pursuit of their own national interests.

“When I ask them ‘Do you believe you do everything legitimately,’ they say ‘Yes.’ And I have to remind them about the US actions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, where they acted either without any UN Security Council mandate or through perverting a mandate, as was the case in Libya,” Putin said.

“Our partners, especially in the United States, always clearly and formulate for themselves their geopolitical and national interests, pursue them relentlessly and then drag the rest of the world in, using the principle ‘You are either with us or against us’. And harass those refuse to be dragged in,”he added.

As for the sanctions Russia faces over Ukraine, Putin said those threatening them should think of the consequences to themselves if they follow that path. In an interconnected world a country may hurt another country if it wishes, but it would be damaged too.

Threats are counterproductive in this situation, Putin warned. He added that if G8 members choose not to go to Sochi for a planned G8 summit, that would be up to them.

 

(Reuters / David Mdzinarishvili)

Putin sympathies with Maidan protesters, rejects coup

Putin stressed that the Ukrainian people had a legitimate reason to protest against Yanukovich’s power, considering the overwhelming corruption and other faults of his presidency.

But he objected to the illegitimate way his ouster took place, because it undermined the political stability in the country.

He said that while he personally was not fond of months-long streets protests as a means to pressure the government, he sympathized with the Maidan demonstration members, who were genuinely outraged with the situation in Ukraine.

But at the same time he warned that what happens in Ukraine now may be a replacement of one group of crooks with another, citing the appointments of certain wealthy businessmen with questionable reputations.

Asked about the presence of snipers during the violent confrontation in Kiev last month, Putin said he was not aware of any order from the Yanukovich government to use firearms against the protesters. He alleged that the shooters could have been provocateurs from one of the opposition forces. He added that what he was sure of is the fact that police officers were shot at with lethal arms during the confrontation.

Yanukovich is certainly powerless in Ukraine, but legally speaking he is the legitimate president of the country, Putin said. The way the new authorities in Kiev replaced him did not enhance their credibility.

At the same time Putin does not see any political future for Yanukovich, which he told the ousted Ukrainian president himself. He added that Russia allowed him to come to its territory for humanitarian reasons, because if he remained in Ukraine he could have been summarily executed.

 
Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych arrives for his press-conference in southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, on February 28, 2014. (AFP Photo / Andrey Kronberg)

Equal participation in Ukraine's future for all Ukrainians

The Russian government is currently engaging with the self-proclaimed govern of Ukraine with the goal of preserving economic ties between the two countries. However, any normal relations would only be possible after Ukraine has fully legitimate branches of government, Putin said. He considers that he has no counterpart in Kiev now, so he personally has no partner to communicate with.

The Russian president stressed that Russia wants to see equal participation of all citizens of Ukraine in defining the future of the country. The resistance to the authorities in Kiev, which is evident currently in the eastern and southern Ukraine, shows clearly that currently Kiev does not have a nationwide mandate to govern the country.

Russia will be watching the planned presidential election in Ukraine, Putin said. If it is conducted in an atmosphere of terror, Russia will consider it unfair and will not recognize its results, he warned.

Putin commented on the issue of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, which Russia committed to preserve. He said that Western powers reject Russia’s assessment of the events in Ukraine as a coup and insist on calling it a revolution.

Some Russian experts, Putin warned that if Ukraine had undergone a revolution, then the nation that came out of it is not the same that it was before, similarly to how Russia transformed after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917.

If this is the case, Moscow may consider itself no longer bound by any treaties it has with Ukraine, Putin warned.
 

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