Shortly after his spokesman warned the West against "blackmailing" Moscow with the threat of new sanctions over an upsurge in Ukraine violence, Putin accused Kiev of being unwilling to seek a peaceful settlement to a war that has claimed more than 5,000 lives.
"Who is really fighting there?" Putin said in televised remarks during a visit to Saint Petersburg.
"These are partly official units of the armed forces, but to a greater extent these are so-called 'voluntary nationalist battalions,'" he said.
"In essence, this is not an army, this is a foreign legion - in this particular case NATO's foreign legion, which of course does not pursue the objective of serving Ukraine's national interests. There are completely different goals there," he said, saying they aimed to achieve "Russia's containment."
"Unfortunately, official Kiev authorities are refusing to take the path of a peaceful settlement," he added.
Putin also said that "many" Ukrainian men of draft age did not want to fight and sought to leave for Russia instead.
"They are seeking to move here, wait this out for some time," Putin said. "And they are doing the right thing because they are simply being used there as cannon fodder."
US President Barack Obama at the weekend threatened to pile on the pressure against Russia over the surge in fighting in Ukraine, saying Putin appeared "hell-bent on engaging in military conflicts."
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking to reporters earlier Monday, warned the West against what he called "economic blackmail."
"This is an absolutely destructive, unjustified and ultimately short-sighted policy."
Washington and Brussels have already slapped several rounds of sanctions on Russia in an effort to force Moscow to drop its support for eastern Ukrainian separatists.
Kiev and the West have accused Moscow of sending regular troops to Ukraine to fight. Russia has denied the claim.
Source:AFP - globaltimes.cn
26/1/15
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Putin accuses Kiev of serving NATO interests ...
ReplyDeleteRussian President Vladimir Putin on Monday accused the Ukrainian government forces of effectively implementing NATO's geopolitical objectives.
The Ukrainian army is in effect a NATO legion, which "does not pursue Ukrainian national interests," Putin told a meeting with local students.
"It has quite different geopolitical goals, namely to contain Russia, which is absolutely inconsistent with the national interests of the Ukrainian people," Putin was quoted by Tass news agency as saying.
He accused Ukrainian authorities of giving up peaceful and political ways to settle the crisis and of taking advantage of the ceasefire to regroup the government troops.
"Regrettably, officials in Kiev are refusing to follow the path of peaceful resolution, they do not want to find a political solution. They misused the truce only for regrouping and resumed fighting again." Putin said.
"Thousands of people have already died. This is a tragedy, a civil war in effect," he added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that the conflict in Ukraine might be solved peacefully only if Kiev shows political will for that.
Peskov reiterated that Russia would not change its position over situation in Ukraine under economic pressure and threats, noting that any threats of further sanctions are "absolutely destructive, unjustified and ultimately short-sighted."................http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/904108.shtml
26/1/15
Allegations that US private army or mercenaries operate with the Kiev government are incorrect, US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Monday during a press briefing...
ReplyDelete“There have been rumors, which my understanding they are false,” Psaki told journalists when asked about US private army operating in Ukraine, referring to recent videos depicting English native speakers patrolling streets of Mariupol, a city in the southeast of Ukraine.
The first uniformed armed man speaking English was accidently recorded on the video by the Mariupol News Service. He refused to comment on the correspondent’s question and quickly went away with the words “Out of my face, out of my face, please.”................http://sputniknews.com/military/20150127/1017379428.html
27/1/15