Tillerson Vows Forever Sanctions on Russia
By Stephen Lendman
According to acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner, Tillerson spoke to (illegitimate US-installed putschist) Ukraine (puppet) president Petro Poroshenko on Monday.
He reiterated Washington’s firm commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity – saying sanctions will remain in place until Russia returns control of the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine and fully implements its Minsk agreement commitments.
Fact: The Republic of Crimea is sovereign Russian Federation territory. The overwhelming will of its people by national referendum wants it no other way.
Fact: In February, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said “Crimea…belong(s) to the Russian Federation. We don’t give back our own territory.”
Fact: Russia and Donbass freedom fighters alone observe Minsk terms. Kiev putschists consistently violate them unaccountably.
Fact: As ExxonMobil CEO, Tillerson opposed sanctions, calling them counterproductive and ineffective.
On Monday after meeting with Sergey Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called Russian and EU strategic partnership “surreal” with sanctions in place.
The “full implementation of the Minsk Agreements by all sides” is a precondition for lifting them, she said – a pretext for maintaining them. Kiev is a serial violator.
Lavrov blasted its regime, saying “(t)he apparent sabotage by (its) leadership of everything that is written in the Minsk agreements should meet some (responsible) reaction from those who patronize this” rogue state.
Kiev ignores its responsibility under Minsk, pursuing its own agenda – with support and encouragement from Washington and key European nations.
Why is Russia sanctioned for observing Minsk, not Kiev despite its daily violations, Lavrov asked?
EU states are subservient to US imperial interests – maintaining a permanent state of war in multiple theaters, supporting putschists running Ukraine.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.” http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html – Visit his blog site at www.sjlendman.blogspot.com
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
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