Russia Intends Responding in Kind to Further US Provocations
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
Washington bears full responsibility for dismal bilateral relations. Irreconcilable differences make improving them unattainable.
Bipartisan neocons in Washington want unrelenting adversarial relations maintained, Trump forced to go along, powerless to change things – a deplorable situation, new US provocations virtually certain.
Russia intends responding in kind to any further US hostile actions. On Monday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov met with Trump’s Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon in Helsinki, Finland.
No breakthroughs were achieved, nothing accomplished. Ryabkov said “conditions for the stay of US diplomats in Russia are being adjusted to reflect the restrictions established for our representatives.”
He criticized “hostile actions by the United States and the US encroachment on diplomatic immunity.”
He blasted what he called unacceptable actions by Washington, “destroying Russian-American relations and undermining the international law…”
These actions are “fraught with grave consequences…(It’s essential) to search for solutions to the problems that have accumulated through no fault of ours,” he stressed.
Separately on Monday, Sergey Lavrov said “(w)e are now studying the conditions in which American foreign missions in Russia and Russian foreign missions in the US are operating, and will make these conditions totally equal.”
“The United States said ‘Russians want parity, then they should close one of the four consulates general, because we’ve got only three consulates general in Russia.’ As long as the US took parity as a criterion, Russia will act in kind.”
Further cuts in America’s diplomatic staff in Russia may be imposed along with other measures – certain to bring a strong US countermeasure.
Separately, large-scale joint US-dominated NATO/Swedish military exercises began. So-called Aurora 17 war games will continue provocatively for three weeks on Gotland island off Sweden’s east coast, simulating an enemy attack on the country’s territory – despite no threat it faces from any nation, certainly not Russia.
Almost half of Sweden’s armed forces are involved, 20,000 troops in total from all participating countries, Washington orchestrating the drills.
Sweden’s Defense Minster Peter Hultqvist absurdly said America’s presence in the region is needed, adding exercises are “to deter potential attackers, and force them to carefully consider the risks of attacking our country.”
Suggesting Russia potentially threatens the country is wrongheaded and insulting. No Russian threat exists against any nation.
America and its rogue allies alone threaten humanity.
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