Fractured Russia/US Relations Beyond Repair
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
Deplorable US actions toward Russia in the past four years alone show bilateral relations are worsening, not improving.
It’s hard imagining anything able to repair things, inconceivable as long as bipartisan neocons control US geopolitical policies – waging endless wars of aggression, intolerant of all sovereign independent countries, notably Russia, China and Iran.
In his Wednesday remarks at the 7th Moscow Conference on International Security, Sergey Lavrov blasted Washington, saying:
“We see increasing disregard for international law and multilateral organizations such as the UN. The US ability to honor its commitments is raising questions, especially in light of the attempts to dismantle major international agreements such as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear program, the UN decisions on the Middle East settlement, the Paris declaration on climate change, as well as basic WTO principles.”
“Taken together, this amounts to attempts to revise the system of international affairs.”
Washington and Kiev “sabotag(ed)” Minsk agreements, preventing conflict resolution in Ukraine.
Washington and its partners “continue to flirt with terrorists…divid(ing) them into bad and (less) bad ones.”
They’re all bad cutthroat killers, some worse than others only by their strength and extent of atrocities committed – otherwise no difference. So-called “rebels” don’t exist.
“(T)he Americans are trying to maintain a situation of controlled chaos in this huge geopolitical region, hoping to use it to justify the open-ended US military presence in the region within the framework of their unilateral agenda,” said Lavrov.
Russia has been demonized by numerous “political provocations,” each with no evidence supporting them.
The Skripal affair was “a pretext…staged for the groundless expulsion of diplomats,” heightening East/West tensions, Lavrov stressed.
Public criticism of US-led Western policies toward Russia by Putin, Lavrov and other officials aren’t followed by tough enough actions.
Russian responses are viewed as weakness, not strength by the West, the Kremlin seen as a paper tiger, encouraging further hostile actions imposed.
Undemocratic Dems and Republicans have no qualms about slamming Russia with illegal sanctions and other harsh measures.
As long as Moscow fails to hit back harder in response than it takes, continued disturbing US-led actions will continue, heading perilously toward something much more serious.
According to the neocon/CIA house organ Washington Post in a position to know, Washington “is expected to impose additional sanctions against Russia by Friday,” citing unnamed US officials, saying:
They’re economic ones, targeting “oligarchs (and political leaders) with ties to…Putin…at least a half-dozen” individuals expected to be sanctioned, likely asset freezes and other harshness imposed.
If announced as reported, it’ll fly in the face of Trump’s invitation for a summit with Putin in Washington – certain to accomplish nothing if accepted.
Bilateral relations are too fractured to fix, given how militantly hostile bipartisan neocons in Washington are toward Russia.
Responding to the pejorative “oligarchs,” Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there are none in Russia. They’re business executives like in Western countries.
Washington aims to create conflict between Putin and leading Russian businessmen, Peskov explained.
How much more of this will the Kremlin take before hitting back hard, punishing Washington and its rogue partners severely?
Expelling diplomats and closing consulates alone won’t do it. Much tougher action is needed.
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My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."
