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Iran writes to UN over US visa denial

Press TV – April 16, 2014

Iran has sent a letter of complaint to the United Nations over the US refusal to issue a visa to the Islamic Republic’s appointee for the position of ambassador to the world body.

Iran’s diplomatic mission to the UN met with the UN Office of Legal Affairs on Tuesday over Washington’s refusal to issue a visa to the Iranian appointee Hamid Aboutalebi.

The Iranian mission has also filed a letter, which was released on Monday, with the UN’s Committee on Relations with the Host Country.

In a separate letter, Iran has asked the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to register its letter of protest as an official UN general assembly document and distribute it among member countries.

Washington has decided to deny visa to Aboutalebi over his involvement in the takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran during post-revolution incidents in 1979.

On April 10, the US House of Representatives unanimously approved a legislation that prevents Aboutalebi from entering the US. The White House has also said it would not issue a visa to Aboutalebi.

Abutalebi denies any direct role in the embassy takeover, saying he worked as an interpreter while negotiations for the release of the hostages were going on.

On November 4, 1979, a group of Iranian university students took over the US Embassy in Tehran, which they believed had turned into a den of espionage. Documents found at the compound later corroborated the claims by the students.

Meanwhile Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Hossein Dehqani on Tuesday called on the UN to confront the US over its illegal and unconventional move.

In a meeting with UN Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs Miguel de Serpa Soares, the Iranian envoy said as an international body, the UN receives representatives of independent and sovereign countries.

He expressed regret that the US as the host country has failed to meet its legal commitments under unfounded pretexts.

“This move is against the obligations of the host country according to the agreement between the [host of] the venue and the UN and other diplomatic legal regulations, and will undoubtedly have an unfavorable impact on the United Nations’ mission and the activities of member countries, and will undermine the United Nations’ standing,” Dehqani said.

Soares, for his part, said he would study Iran’s letter of complaint and added that the legal aspects of the issue are currently under investigation.

Under the 1947 Headquarters Agreement, the United States, as the host country of the UN, is required to allow access to the world body for foreign diplomats.

April 16, 2014 Posted by | Aletho News | , | Leave a comment

Iran seeking no alternative for its UN pick: Diplomat

Press TV – April 12, 2014

Iran is not considering any replacement for its newly-appointed ambassador to the United Nations Hamid Aboutalebi who has been denied a visa by the US, a top Iranian diplomat says.

“We are considering no alternative to replace Mr. Aboutalebi and are pursuing the issue through legal mechanisms,” said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araqchi on Saturday.

On Friday, the White House said it had announced to Iran and the UN that the US would not issue Aboutalebi with a visa.

The announcement came a day after the US House of Representatives unanimously approved a legislation that prevents Aboutalebi from entering the United States.

The bill, sponsored by Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, was passed by the Democratic-controlled Senate through voice vote on April 7.

The legislation will be sent to the White House to be signed by President Barack Obama to take effect.

Iran has rejected the US decision as unacceptable and says it will follow up on the issue through diplomatic channels at the United Nations.

Washington has decided to deny a visa to Aboutalebi over his involvement in the takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran during post-revolution incidents in 1979. Abutalebi denies any direct role in the embassy takeover, saying he worked as an interpreter while negotiations for the release of the hostages were going on.

On November 4, 1979, a group of Iranian university students took over the US Embassy in Tehran, which they believed had turned into a den of espionage. Documents found at the compound later corroborated the claims by the students.

The UN regulations stipulate that each country is allowed to select its own representatives at the international organization and the US, as the host country, must grant visas to the appointed diplomats.

April 12, 2014 Posted by | Aletho News | , | Leave a comment

Donetsk activists proclaim region’s independence from Ukraine

RT | April 7, 2014

In the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, a group of activists have declared their region independent from Kiev. This comes after protesters stormed a local government building last night.

Mass demonstrations against the country’s new leadership started peacefully on Sunday, but the situation quickly escalated.

Pro-Russian protesters in Donetsk have seized the local power building, including the headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine and proclaimed the creation of a People’s Republic of Donetsk.

Ukraine’s police and security services have not interfered, although officials in Kiev are threatening punishment for the rioters.

Protesters have erected barricades around the Council building.

Today at 12:20 local time, a session of the people’s Council of Donbass (Donetsk region) took place in the main hall of the Regional Council and unanimously voted on a declaration to form a new independent state: the People’s Republic of Donetsk.

The Council proclaimed itself the only legitimate body in the region until the regions in southeast Ukraine conduct a general referendum, set to take place no later than May 11.

“The Donetsk Republic is to be created within the administrative borders of the Donetsk region. This decision will come into effect after the referendum,” the statement said.

The Council in Donetsk issued an address to Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking for deployment of a temporary peacekeeping force to the region.

“Without support it will be hard for us to stand against the junta in Kiev,” said the address.

“We are addressing Russian President Putin because we can only entrust our security to Russia,” the statement said.

Rallies in support of the federalization of Ukraine continue in a number of cities in southeast Ukraine. Thousands of citizens have joined the protests, demanding the earliest possible federalization of the country.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Interior said that last night unknown persons stormed the Security Service of Ukraine building in the city of Lugansk and seized a weapons warehouse there. During the night’s clashes, nine people were reportedly injured.

In the city of Kharkov protesters erected barricades around the buildings of the city and the regional administrations and the regional headquarters of Security Service of Ukraine.

There were brief clashes between supporters of the federalization of Ukraine and pro-EU demonstrators in downtown Kharkov. Protesters on both sides used fire crackers and stun grenades.

A demonstration against political repression in Ukraine has also been held in the southern regional center of Odessa.

The chiefs of security agencies of Ukraine are reportedly heading to the cities engulfed in protests.

The interim secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Andrey Parubiy, together with acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Valentin Nalivaichenko, are set to visit Lugansk. Interim Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Yarema will visit Donetsk and acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has reportedly already arrived in Kharkov.

The coup-appointed acting president, Aleksandr Turchinov, has threatened that counter-terrorist measures could be taken against those who take up arms against the Kiev authorities, RIA news agency reported. On Thursday, the Ukrainian parliament will tighten laws regarding separatism and could possibly ban certain parties and organizations , Turchinov warned.

“What happened yesterday is the second stage of the special operation of the Russian Federation against Ukraine,” announced Turchinov in an address televised on Monday, sharing that an “anti-crisis command was set up last night” to deal with the crisis, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

Ukraine’s interim Foreign Minister Andrey Deschitsa announced on Monday that if the situation in the eastern regions escalates, the coup-appointed government in Kiev will take “much harsher” measures than those on the reunion of the Crimea with Russia. Deschitsa gave an assurance that members of the government are already working with local authorities.

April 7, 2014 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , | Leave a comment

Over 1,500 Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces since 2000 – PA minister

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RT | April 6, 2014

More than 1,500 Palestinian children have died at the hands of Israeli forces since 2000, the Palestinian Authority’s minister of social affairs, Kamal Sharafi, said Saturday, on Palestinian Children’s Day.

In addition to the 1,520 children that have been killed, another 6,000 have been injured and more than 10,000 arrested, Palestinian news agency Ma’an quoted Sharafi as saying. Two-hundred children are still in detention in Israeli prisons.

“Protecting and supporting children should be a national responsibility,” Sharafi said, urging the Palestinian Authority to approve a law for the protection of minors.

The international community has criticized Israel for the mistreatment of Palestinian minors. In March 2013, a United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) report concluded that Palestinian children detained by the Israeli military in the West Bank are “systematically” ill-treated, which is a violation of international law.

Each year, some 700 Palestinian children aged 12 to 17 – mainly boys – are arrested, interrogated, and detained by Israel’s army, police, and security agents, UNICEF said in the 22-page document.

According to the report, the ill-treatment often begins at the point of arrest, when children are woken by heavily-armed soldiers and forcibly brought to an interrogation center “tied and blindfolded, sleep-deprived and in a state of extreme fear.”

In June 2013, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) issued a report stating that thousands of Palestinian children were systematically injured, tortured, and used as human shields by Israel.

During the 10-year period examined by UN human rights experts, up to 7,000 children aged 9 to 17 were arrested, interrogated and kept captive, CRC said in the report.

April 6, 2014 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , | Leave a comment

NATO to promote ties with Ukraine, boost military presence in Eastern Europe

RT | March 31, 2014

NATO will strengthen relations with Ukraine and send more troops to Eastern Europe, the bloc’s outgoing chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said. The Ukrainian coup-imposed foreign minister is to fly to Brussels to take part in Ukraine-NATO talks.

Days after seconding US President Barack Obama’s statements on “ensuring a regular NATO presence” in “vulnerable” countries, NATO’s Secretary General Rasmussen spoke to the German media detailing the alliance’s plans in Eastern Europe.

Speaking to Welt am Sonntag, Rasmussen said that NATO’s expansion in the region has been “one of the greatest success stories of our time.” However, the alliance’s “task is not yet complete,” the NATO chief added.

NATO’s partnership with Ukraine has been getting “ever stronger,” Rasmussen noted, accusing Russia of violating the country’s right to “freely determine its own destiny,” as well as its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Georgia have already sought NATO membership and are already working on reforms to achieve it, he said.

“We are now considering revised operational plans, military manoeuvres and adequate troop reinforcements. We will, for example, relocate more aircrafts to the Baltic States,” Rasmussen told Focus magazine.

While this does not apply to Ukraine, which, according to the NATO chief, does not see membership a priority “in the foreseeable future,” NATO will help to “reform” Ukraine’s armed forces.

At the same time, NATO seeks “diplomatic solution to the crisis” in Ukraine, Rasmussen said, and will “keep the channels of communication with Moscow open.” This comes days after the alliance’s chief tweeted that NATO is to “review viability” of its relationship with Russia.

The Ukrainian coup-imposed government is set to discuss cooperation with NATO as early as next week, according to Kiev-picked acting foreign minister Andrey Deshchytsa.

Deshchytsa told journalists on Saturday he will take part in the extraordinary session of Ukraine-NATO Commission in Brussels on April 1-2, will “hold meetings and consultations” with US and UK foreign ministers, as well as attend the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on April 2-3.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have been holding an unexpected meeting on Ukraine in Paris. Kerry abruptly changed his travel route and decided to meet his Russian counterpart on Saturday after speaking with Lavrov over the phone. The latest round of Russian-US diplomacy over Ukraine started with President Vladimir Putin and President Barack Obama discussing the situation in the Eastern European country by phone on Friday.

March 31, 2014 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , | Leave a comment

Brazil looks to ban Monsanto’s Roundup, other toxicity risks

RT | March 27, 2014

Brazil’s public prosecutor wants to suspend use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s pervasive herbicide Roundup. A recent study suggested glyphosate may be linked to a fatal kidney disease that has affected poor farming regions worldwide.

The Prosecutor General’s office is also pursuing bans on the herbicide 2,4-D and seven other active herbicide ingredients in addition to glyphosate: methyl parathion, lactofem, phorate, carbofuran, abamectin, tiram, and paraquat, GMWatch reported.

The Prosecutor General of Brazil “seeks to compel the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) to reevaluate the toxicity of eight active ingredients suspected of causing damage to human health and the environment,” according to the prosecutor’s website. “On another front, the agency questions the registration of pesticides containing 2,4-D herbicide, applied to combat broadleaf weeds.”

The two actions have already been filed with Brazil’s justice department.

The prosecutor is also seeking a preliminary injunction that would allow the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply to suspend further registration of the eight ingredients until ANVISA can come to a conclusion.

The country’s National Biosafety Technical Commission has been asked to prohibit large-scale sale of genetically modified seeds resistant to the 2,4-D as ANVISA deliberates.

Last week, Brazil’s Federal Appeals Court ruled to cancel use of Bayer’s Liberty Link genetically-modified maize. Earlier this month, France banned the sale, use, and cultivation of Monsanto’s genetically-modified maize MON 810. New research found insects in the United States are developing a resistance to the genetically-engineered maize.

As for glyphosate, new research suggests it becomes highly toxic to the human kidney once mixed with “hard” water or metals like arsenic and cadmium that often exist naturally in the soil or are added via fertilizer. Hard water contains metals like calcium, magnesium, strontium, and iron, among others. On its own, glyphosate is toxic, but not detrimental enough to eradicate kidney tissue.

The glyphosate molecule was patented as a herbicide by Monsanto in the early 1970s. The company soon brought glyphosate to market under the name “Roundup,” which is now the most commonly used herbicide in the world.

Two weeks ago, Sri Lanka banned glyphosate given the links to an inexplicable kidney disease, Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown etiology, known as CKDu, according to the Center for Public Integrity. CKDu has killed thousands of agricultural workers, many in Sri Lanka and El Salvador.

El Salvador’s legislature approved in September a ban on glyphosate and many other agrochemicals, yet the measure is not yet law.

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March 28, 2014 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Israeli soldiers shot dead Palestinian teen in cold blood: Rights group

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Relatives of Palestinian teenager Yussef Shawamreh mourn outside his house in the West Bank village of Deir al-Asal, 15 kilometers from Hebron on March 19, 2014 after he was shot dead by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank. (Photo: AFP – Hazem Bader)

Al-Akhbar | March 26, 2014

Israeli occupation forces who shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the West Bank last week used live fire, without warning, against innocent youngsters out foraging for roots, an Israeli rights group said Wednesday.

After investigating the March 19 death of 15-year-old Yussef Sami Shawamreh, B’Tselem said it had found no evidence to support the army’s version of events that troops had opened fire at youths who had “sabotaged” the West Bank apartheid wall.

B’Tselem said the primary responsibility for the boy’s death rested with the army commanders who approved the use of live fire at a site where villagers from Deir al-Asal al-Tahta are known to go out and pick wild plants on their own land.

An army spokeswoman told AFP after the incident that soldiers had spotted three Palestinians vandalizing the wall, saying they had “verbally warned” them before firing warning shots in the air then shooting at their lower extremities.

But Shawamreh’s family and witnesses said the teenager had been looking for gundelia, a thistle-type plant used in cooking.

B’Tselem said the shooting occurred in an area where there is a wide breach in the barrier and where families regularly go out to forage on their own farmland.

“The two surviving youths… heard three or four shots as they got off the road, fired with no advance warning,” the report said.

Shawamreh, who was severely wounded but not picked up by a military ambulance for some 30 minutes, was later pronounced dead at an Israeli hospital.

The NGO said its findings were “markedly different” from the army’s version of events.

“The youths made no attempt at vandalism; they were crossing through a long-existing breach, and the soldiers did not carry out suspect arrest procedure, shooting at Shawamreh with no advance warning,” it said.

Troops in the area were “well aware” that over the past two years, Palestinians have been crossing the barrier at the breach “to pick gundelia on their own farmland,” B’Tselem.

It added that the use of live fire showed a “cynical lack of concern for the life of a Palestinian teenager.”

Two days earlier, soldiers had detained four teenagers in the same spot, beating them and confiscating the plants they had picked.

“The decision to mount an armed ambush at a point in the barrier known to be crossed by youths, who pose no danger whatsoever to anyone, for the purpose of harvesting plants is highly questionable,” the report said, noting it showed “extremely faulty discretion” on the part of the commanders.

“The primary responsibility for the killing lies with the commanders who sent the soldiers out on armed ambush,” B’Tselem director Jessica Montell said in a statement that urged the military police to consider whether the commanders should “bear personal criminal responsibility” for Shawamreh’s death.

There was no immediate response from the occupation authorities.

(AFP, Al-Akhbar)

March 26, 2014 Posted by | Aletho News | Leave a comment

European inspectors report no Russian military build-up on Ukraine border

Voice of Russia | March 23, 2014

Watchdogs from several European countries have noticed no indication of a massive build-up of Russian military that would threaten the security of neighboring states, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Sunday.

According to Mr. Antonov, as many as seven inspection groups paid visits to Russian border territories over the past month. “Our facilities and deployment areas along the Russian-Ukrainian border were twice checked by the Ukrainian military,” he noted.

Monitors from the US, Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Finland scrutinized Russia’s military camps stationed on its borders with neighboring nations. “It must have been a simple ‘coincidence’ that the majority of these [missions] focused on the regions near the Ukrainian border,” Mr. Antonov noted.

“We were as transparent as it comes and let our partners inspect all facilities they wanted. We have nothing to hide,” the defense chief pointed out.

The Russian military went as far as allowing EU and NATO watchdogs to interrogate Russian command, takes photos of bases where personnel and military hardware were stationed and accompany them during their routine maneuvers.

“The conclusion that our partners came to after the final briefing, which is a compulsory inspection procedure, was unanimous: Russian armed forces are not involved in any manner of unannounced military maneuvers that would endanger the security of neighboring states,” Antonov underscored.

The Russian deputy defense minister urged Ukrainian and European watchdogs to update their corresponding governments on the actual situation on the Russian borders, saying a clearer picture would certainly de-escalate the situation in the region.

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March 23, 2014 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , | Leave a comment

Crimean self-defense squads enter Belbek airbase

RT | March 22, 2014

Crimean self-defense forces have surrounded Belbek airbase near Sevastopol after Ukrainian troops inside refused to lay down their arms and leave the base in accordance to the Crimean prime minister’s order.

The self-defense squads are now in control of the airbase while the Ukrainian troops have been given an opportunity to leave, Dmitry Osipenko, a journalist for Sevastopol news website ForPost who was present at the scene, told RT.

The commander of the airbase, Yuliy Mamchur, has been escorted to negotiations with Crimean authorities.

“After they refused [to leave the base] the Sevastopol self-defense troops tried to enter the territory of the base,” while gunfire was heard at the scene. “According to my information nobody was injured, but I’m not sure,” said Osipenko.

Osipenko claimed the gunfire was coming from the side of the Ukrainian troops. However, it is unclear who was shooting. “The self-defense forces hid behind cars and then a car rammed the gate [of the airbase],” he said.

He stated that apart from the self-defense squads, Sevastopol Cossaks were present.

The move follows the March 16 all-Crimean referendum which resulted in over 96 percent of voters opting for the autonomous republic to join Russia. Eighty-three percent of the Crimeans took part in the vote. The decision was sparked by bloody protests in Kiev that resulted in the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovich and fears that the unrest might spread to Crimea.

Russia finalized the legal process of taking Crimea under its sovereignty on Friday, with President Vladimir Putin signing a law amending the Russian constitution to reflect the transition.

‘We are being abandoned’

Though Crimea is no longer part of Ukraine, Kiev authorities have not yet officially ordered Ukrainian troops to leave their bases in Crimea.

Ukrainian military troops stationed at Belbek criticized their leadership for abandoning them in a post on the airbase’s blog.

“We are being abandoned – most sadly by our own government,” it reads. “The most dangerous enemy appeared to be our leadership and our government.”

“Today I’ve found an interview with Acting Minister of Defense [Igor] Tenyukh where he says he maintains contact with all troops on the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, that all relevant orders were given and the situation is under control. There were only two orders – ‘remain in place’ and ‘[you are ] allowed to use weapons.’ That’s it!”

“What is expected [of us] in case of an assault?” the military asked. ”There were no clear answers given to us.”

Meanwhile, most US financial assistance to Ukraine will focus on the formation and maintenance of the new military – the National Guard, said a source from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, as cited by Itar-Tass.

“Kiev is not planning to fund the army or navy which are in a deplorable state,” the source said.

The National Guard, the custodian of the coup-imposed government, is already in formation and will be comprised of 60,000 men and women from former and current Ukrainian troops and volunteers from Maidan self-defense squads. It will be appointed by the parliament upon the recommendation of the acting president.

March 22, 2014 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , | Leave a comment

Venice votes in online poll to split from Italy

Press TV – March 22, 2014

People in Venice and its surrounding region have voted in an online poll to split from the rest of Italy and establish their own independent state.

More than two million residents of the Veneto region participated in the week-long survey, with 89 percent voting in favor of secession from Italy.

The online vote, organized by local pro-independence parties, is not legally binding but is only meant to muster support for a bill calling for a referendum.

The Indipendenza Veneta party behind the bill says the separatist campaign is driven by the Italian government’s alleged inability to stem corruption, protect Venice’s citizens from a debilitating recession and control waste water in the poorer south.

Supporters say the new Republic of Veneto would be inspired by the ancient Venetian Republic, which existed from the seventh century until its fall to Napoleon in 1797.

Critics argue that an attempt to break away from Italy could be unconstitutional.

March 22, 2014 Posted by | Aletho News | , , | Leave a comment

Kiev, EU sign ‘political provisions’ of association deal

Press TV – March 21, 2014

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy says Ukraine’s interim government has signed the “political” provisions of an association agreement with the EU.

“Signing [the] political part [of the] EU-Ukraine Association Agreement symbolizes [the] importance of relations [and] will to take it further,” Van Rompuy said in message on his Twitter account on Friday.

The 28-nation bloc and the new Ukrainian government signed the core chapters of the Association Agreement on the sidelines of a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday.

The document reportedly carries the signatures of Van Rompuy, Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso as well as the heads of the 28-nation bloc.

The association agreement between the EU and Ukraine was initially to be signed last November. However, Ukraine’s then president, Viktor Yanukovych, refrained from signing the deal in favor of closer ties with neighboring Russia.

Yanukovych’s refusal to sign the accord triggered turmoil in the country, with months of unrest that led to the ouster of Yanukovych on February 23. He has travelled to Russia, where he was given sanctuary.

On March 11, Yanukovych said in a public statement that he is still Ukraine’s legitimate president and commander-in-chief. The ousted president also stated that he has never fled his country and promised to return.

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March 21, 2014 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , | Leave a comment

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

RT | March 18, 2014

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, 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.

March 18, 2014 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , , | Leave a comment

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