“Well, wait!” In Washington
A week ago, Minsk hosted a meeting of Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov with the special representative of the US State Department for Ukraine Kurt Walker. Information about her is extremely scarce, but from what media have reported, the rather high appreciation given by the Russian representative gave the meeting. V. Surkov called it useful and constructive, noting that "the discussion was conducted in a tone of mutual respect and interest, honestly, seriously, without illusions and bias." At the same time, “the commitment to the Minsk agreements was not questioned: both sides proposed fresh ideas and innovative approaches to their implementation,” he stressed.
It turned out that from the American side this is not quite so, or rather, not at all. K. Volker took a week-long pause, after which he expressed a number of theses in the Financial Times newspaper, which clearly indicate that the United States is not committed to any Minsk agreements. What are his only words saying that the responsibility for the armed conflict in the Donbass "lies entirely with Russia" and that the Russian Federation must "withdraw its troops from the territory of Ukraine."
Whether someone likes it or not, but according to Minsk documents - and this has to be reminded for the thousandth time - Russia is not a party to the conflict in the south-east of Ukraine, but only one of the guarantors of the implementation of the agreements concluded by Moscow, Berlin, Paris and Kiev . In addition, the world community is not presented a single strong evidence of the presence of Russian troops on Ukrainian territory. Not later than at the end of July, Deputy Minister for Uncontrolled Territories Georgy Tukas stated unequivocally: "We cannot, despite all efforts, legally prove the presence of the regular Russian army in the Donbas." And what inconceivable efforts have been made for this - is it necessary to speak!
The military-operational background against which V. Surkov met with K. Volker also testifies to the real culprit in the escalation of the situation in the Donbass. The Ukrainian command, under the guise of a "school ceasefire", which entered into force on August 25, is carrying out, as the representative of the DPR operational command Eduard Basurin said last Saturday, regrouping military equipment at the contact line in the Mariupol region. “Another confirmation of the complete disruption of the“ school truce ”, which is being prepared by the Ukrainian military command, is the pulling of heavy weapons to the line of contact. Marked eight tanks Of the 28th separate mechanized brigade in the direction of the village of Starognatovka, ”he cited some details.
According to E. Basurin, sabotage and reconnaissance and sniper groups are being trained in the same command in the units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and reconnaissance of the area is being carried out using unmanned aerial vehicles.
The fault of the Kiev junta is very restless on other parts of the contact line. However, as if wearing blinders on his eyes, K. Volker without a shadow of a doubt accuses not Kiev, but the militia of the DPR and the LPR “under the command of Russia” that the situation in Ukraine looks more like a “hot war” than a frozen conflict.
And under this far-fetched pretext, Washington, pouring gas on the fire, began to talk seriously about deliveries weapons to Ukraine. 24 August Pentagon chief James Mattis, while on a visit to Kiev, said: “If we talk about defensive lethal weapons, we are considering this issue. I will now return to myself (in the USA. - Ed.) And, taking into account what I saw and learned about, I will inform the country's leadership about very specific things that I will recommend for implementation. ”
Meanwhile, even many European politicians are against sending weapons to Ukraine. Thus, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the former OSCE chairman, called such plans a very risky and counterproductive way out of the crisis.
Not only Russian, but also many European politicians have repeatedly warned the United States against plans to supply arms to Ukraine, since this step will only lead to an escalation of the conflict in the Donbas.
However, in his interview to the Financial Times, K. Volker also confirmed that Washington is “seriously considering plans for the supply of arms to Ukraine”.
And after that, the State Department Special Envoy undertakes to give a forecast of the development of Russian-American relations, considering that the conflict in the Donbas can “cripple” them. According to him, despite the sanctions and economic costs of Russia, the situation in the Donbass "is only getting worse." And this, they say, is one of the reasons why the Donald Trump administration is exploring the possibility of supplying Kiev with lethal weapons.
K. Volker, in fact, spoke about the possibility of the international isolation of our country, if Moscow does not "think again". “The situation when Russia because of this will be thrown out of diplomatic relations, economic relations, of course, is not what Russia would like. I think they (Russian leaders. - Ed.) Should make their choice, their own calculations, ”the special representative emphasized.
Hidden threats in the spirit of "Well, wait a minute!", And not just the last name, Kurt Walker, is very reminiscent of the cartoon Wolf. And just like the unlucky hero of a popular Soviet cartoon series, the gosdepovtsa in his attempts to isolate Russia is waiting for a fiasco. This was directly stated by a member of the Federation Council Alexei Pushkov. "Russia will not be" thrown out of the system of diplomatic and economic relations. " Volker frightens us in vain. Obama's experience has shown: the United States is not capable of doing that, ”the politician wrote on his Twitter page.
Unrealizable fantasy - this is how Sergei Zheleznyak and Volkera’s threats to the State Duma’s international affairs committee described the threats. “This is just a new attempt to pressure and impose their views on other countries. In today's virtually multi-polar world, by definition, Russia cannot be isolated because of Washington’s painful jealousy. The US policy towards Russia and many other countries does not receive support in much of the world and only complicates America’s foreign policy, ”said the State Duma deputy.
Andrei Klimov, deputy chairman of the Federation Council committee on international affairs, shares this opinion. According to him, Mr. Volcker “was very late with this statement. Because before him, Mr. Obama and other people talked about it. If they do it sincerely, I sincerely feel sorry for them. <…> It has nothing to do with objective reality. At least three-quarters of the world's states are trying to move away from the policy of confrontation with Russia as far as possible. And there are not so many of those who, at the first whistle of the United States, are ready to carry out their instructions - 10-15 states. Moreover, their peoples are not disposed in the same way as their governments. "
So what’s the bottom line? Judging by the statements of Volcker, Russian-American relations have unenviable prospects. But the reason for this is not in Russia's attempts to “freeze the conflict in the Donbass” and get some benefits from it, but in the prejudice of such as the Wolf — excuse me, Volker — representatives of the State Department and other state offices that shape Washington’s foreign policy.
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