Russia blames US for Ukraine crisis
17 April 2015 5:48 AM IST
Evoking Cold War-style rhetoric, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said a drive by the United States and its allies to bring Kiev closer to the West was a threat to Moscow and had forced it to react.
“The United States and its allies have crossed all possible lines in their drive to bring Kiev into their orbit. That could not have failed to trigger our reaction,” he told an annual security conference in Moscow.
Echoing his comments, General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, told the meeting: “Considering themselves the winners of the Cold War, the United States decided to reshape the world to fit its needs.
“Aiming at complete dominance, Washington stopped taking into account the interests of other countries and respect international law.”
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine last March following what it says was an “unconstitutional coup” in which street protests toppled a Moscow-allied Ukrainian president in Kiev after he ditched a deal to move closer to the European Union.
Separatist unrest then spread to eastern, Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine where fighting between Kiev’s troops and pro-Russian rebels killed more than 6,000 people. The West says Moscow drives the rebellion, sends serving Russian troops there and provides the rebels with arms, training and intelligence.
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday repeated Moscow’s denial, saying Russian military forces were not in Ukraine and denying that it was providing troops and support for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Shoigu blamed the violence on Kiev and sought to dismiss Western criticism that Russia was forcibly
remaking European borders, pointing to Western military involvement in Serbia, Iraq and Libya.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the conference, attended by envoys from China, Iran, Pakistan and some of Russia’s allies, that Kiev had to deliver on its obligations under peace agreements reached in Minsk to “safeguard unity of the Ukrainian state”.
‘Russia to build own space station by 2023’
Russia plans to build its own orbiting space station by 2023, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday during a marathon call-in session with the nation. “By 2023, we plan to create our own national space station in orbit,” Putin said. “This is something far-off in the future, but also necessary for us from the point of view of our national economy.”
Russia and NASA recently agreed to keep operating and financing the International Space Station at least until 2024, but future joint space projects remain in doubt, as relations between Russia and the US have plunged to post-Cold War lows over the Ukraine conflict. The Kremlin strongman said Russia needs its own space station to be able to view its own territory properly from space.
“The United States and its allies have crossed all possible lines in their drive to bring Kiev into their orbit. That could not have failed to trigger our reaction,” he told an annual security conference in Moscow.
Echoing his comments, General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, told the meeting: “Considering themselves the winners of the Cold War, the United States decided to reshape the world to fit its needs.
“Aiming at complete dominance, Washington stopped taking into account the interests of other countries and respect international law.”
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine last March following what it says was an “unconstitutional coup” in which street protests toppled a Moscow-allied Ukrainian president in Kiev after he ditched a deal to move closer to the European Union.
Separatist unrest then spread to eastern, Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine where fighting between Kiev’s troops and pro-Russian rebels killed more than 6,000 people. The West says Moscow drives the rebellion, sends serving Russian troops there and provides the rebels with arms, training and intelligence.
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday repeated Moscow’s denial, saying Russian military forces were not in Ukraine and denying that it was providing troops and support for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Shoigu blamed the violence on Kiev and sought to dismiss Western criticism that Russia was forcibly
remaking European borders, pointing to Western military involvement in Serbia, Iraq and Libya.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the conference, attended by envoys from China, Iran, Pakistan and some of Russia’s allies, that Kiev had to deliver on its obligations under peace agreements reached in Minsk to “safeguard unity of the Ukrainian state”.
‘Russia to build own space station by 2023’
Russia plans to build its own orbiting space station by 2023, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday during a marathon call-in session with the nation. “By 2023, we plan to create our own national space station in orbit,” Putin said. “This is something far-off in the future, but also necessary for us from the point of view of our national economy.”
Russia and NASA recently agreed to keep operating and financing the International Space Station at least until 2024, but future joint space projects remain in doubt, as relations between Russia and the US have plunged to post-Cold War lows over the Ukraine conflict. The Kremlin strongman said Russia needs its own space station to be able to view its own territory properly from space.
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